Turkey was once expected to be one of the F-35's largest export customers and was to purchase more than almost any foreign country (other than the United Kingdom and Japan). Turkey wasn't just purchasing the jets, it was involved in the development of the F-35 and was producing parts for the F-35. By 2019, the first fighter jets for the Turkish Air Force had been built and were ready to be delivered. Then, the United States kicked Turkey out of the program and substituted the parts for the F-35 ( many of the components of the F-35 are produced by US allies around the world).

The F-35 is a guarded secret

Despite some criticism online, the F-35 is hands down the most advanced multi-role fighter in the world. Potentially, the only aircraft that could best the F-35 in an air-to-air role is the F-22 Raptor (built as an air dominance platform). While the F-35 is the world's most popular fifth-generation fighter (by a long shot), it is also a closely guarded American secret.

Select Turkish companies formerly involved in the F-35 program:

• TAI: Was the sole producer of the center fuselage of F-35A outside of the US, also made other components
• AYESAŞ: Produced panoramic cockpit screen and the missile control interface cards
• Alp Aviation: Produced parts of the main and nose landing gear, some other structural parts, and some parts for the engine
• ASELSAN: Working on avionics and optical components used in the targeting system
• ROKETSAN/TÜBİTAK SAGE: Worked on the SOM-J cruise missile for the jet

"the expulsion would cost Turkey $11 billion in export revenue." - Nordic Monitor

The US is very selective of the countries it exports the jet to - and refuses to export it to partners where it feels the jet could be compromised. Onerous conditions can be placed on countries purchasing the F-35 (for example, in Israel, the US forbids Israeli pilots with a second passport from flying it). The US has refused to export it to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Thailand, and even Taiwan.

Why Turkey was kicked out of the F-35 program

The reasons for not exporting the jet are manifold, but with Turkey, it was because it purchased the Russian S-400 Triumf aid defense system. In the event of war with Russia (or any country equipped with Russian-origin weapons), the S-400 (and S-300) will be one of the top threats the F-35 faces. The United States will not allow Russia to gather information on the F-35 through its S-400 (the US will also not allow it to be sold to countries installing China's Huawei 5G network).

It is important to note that the relationship between the United States and Turkey is complex. While enduring partners, the two countries often have rocky relationships. Turkey is a middle power globally and a large power in its region, and it resents the US for telling it what to do.

Underperforming S-400

In purchasing the S-400, it is clear that the Turks made a bad call. The purchase of S-400s meant not only that Turkey couldn't purchase the jets, but they also lost (at least for now) the deposit they paid. Plus, according to a manager of TAI, Turkey has forgone $11 billion in parts sales for the F-35 they would have made.

But it gets worse. The Turks are not using their S-400 SAMs and haven't even turned them on (apart from when they arrived to ensure they worked). Instead, they are sitting, gathering dust somewhere. The Turks even suggested, "Let's put them in boxes, and you [United States] check" in order to be readmitted to the program.

But it gets worse. US-made ATACMS missiles have played havoc on Russia's S-300 and S-400 SAMs in Ukraine, with the air defense systems apparently unable to defend themselves from relatively old US-made missiles. If it is correct that Israel destroyed all three or four of Iran's Russian-supplied S-300s in a single airstrike in a single night with no losses, then it really looks like Turkey got a bad deal (Israel reportedly used F-35s, F-16s, and F-15s in the strike).

More broadly, the US has been successful in all but choking off Russia's ability to export fighter jets. The US CAATSA Act is designed to sanction countries that choose to purchase Russian weapons (like S-400s and fighter jets) .

Turkey purchasing other fighter jets

Being kicked out of the F-35 program, Turkey has doubled down on developing its own fighter jet - the KAAN. It hopes the KAAN will enter service around 2030 (Turkey claims it is a fifth-generation fighter). Turkey has also sought to upgrade its F-16s and purchase new F-16s (although the US stalled on this as well - at least until Turkey admitted Sweden into NATO in early 2024).

"“There is a radar at the front designed to detect incoming enemies. If you look at the radar technology, the F-16 has a radar range of 80 kilometers, while the F-35’s range extends to 250 kilometers.” - Mahmut Faruk Akşit, general manager of TUSAS Engine Industries (TEI)

There are also reports that Turkey may be interested in purchasing 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets. And yet, while all of these are very capable jets, none measure up to the F-35A that Turkey could have had.