Trump Administration Advances $700 Million Turkey Arms Sale Over Congressional Objections Before NATO Summit

The Trump administration has moved to deliver $700 million in defense articles — consisting mostly of fighter jets — to NATO ally Turkey by bypassing Congress, drawing bipartisan criticism just weeks before Turkey is set to host the 2026 NATO summit in Ankara. Rep. Gregory Meeks, Democrat of New York and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the State Department notified him of the decision without invoking emergency authority or providing a written rationale.

Congressional Bypass Draws Bipartisan Fire

Meeks said in a statement that despite months of requests, the administration refused to brief him on the sale's implications for the U.S.-Turkey relationship, Turkey's continued possession of Russia's S-400 air defense system, or other regional security concerns. "In this case, the State Department did not even attempt to justify its decision," Meeks said.

Four House Republicans — Reps. Jimmy Patronis, Gus Bilirakis, Mike Haridopolos, and Nicole Malliotakis — issued a joint statement Monday expressing deep concern about the proposed sale. The four Greek American members cited Turkey's disputed maritime claims, its illegal occupation of Cyprus, and its position as the only NATO member that has refused to impose sanctions on Russia. They also flagged Turkey's harboring of Hamas as a regional destabilizing factor and said they are actively engaging with the administration and House leadership to oppose any move toward readmitting Turkey to the F-35 program without full compliance with CAATSA requirements.

The S-400 Problem

Turkey's acquisition of Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile system remains the central sticking point. Ankara signed the deal with Moscow in 2017 and took delivery in 2019, prompting the United States to impose sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act and to remove Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program. Congress subsequently passed legislation codifying that ban while Turkey retains the S-400.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has warned that the simultaneous operation or networking of the S-400 and F-35 could provide Moscow with intelligence capable of targeting F-35s flown by American and allied pilots. The State Department, for its part, said Turkey remains "a strong member of NATO" and "a significant contributor to Alliance operations and missions."

Strategic Prize: Turkey's KAAN Fighter Jet

The sale carries particular weight for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan because it centers on GE engines critical to Turkey's domestically developed KAAN fifth-generation fighter jet. Gonul Tol, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital that without U.S.-made GE engines, KAAN would struggle to advance from prototype to serial production — Turkey's own engine development is still years away.

Tol, who is in Ankara for the NATO summit, said the deal is a cornerstone of Erdogan's foreign policy and a source of domestic political legitimacy. Ankara believes a successful KAAN program would expand Turkey's defense exports and reinforce its strategic importance within the NATO alliance. Erdogan, who has lobbied Washington aggressively for Turkey's reinstatement into the F-35 program, has received consistent public praise from President Trump. A spokesperson for the Turkish government did not respond to a request for comment.