Erdogan’s Turkey is no place for the F-35

Published June 28, 2026 5:00am ET



President Donald Trump would be justified in striking a $700 million deal to sell jet aircraft engines to the Turkish air force. But he would make a serious strategic error if he sold F-35 stealth fighter jets to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.

Asked Wednesday about the possibility of doing so, Trump said Erdogan “really is a strong member of NATO. Yeah, I’m going to probably do something that’s going to make him very happy.”

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