US Congress moves to block Turkey's return to the F‑35 program

Democratic Representative Dina Titus of Nevada is leading a bipartisan effort in the US House of Representatives to prevent any reinstatement of Turkey in the Lockheed Martin F‑35 joint‑strike fighter program. Lawmakers are gathering signatures for a letter that will ask House leaders – Republican Steve Scalise and Democrat Hakeem Jeffries – to be ready to invoke the Arms Export Control Act and the related Export Controls Act, which give Congress the power to issue a joint resolution of disapproval to block a major weapons sale. The move follows President Donald Trump’s recent comments about a possible defence deal with Ankara ahead of the NATO summit in July, and specifically the proposed sale of GE F110 engines for Turkey’s KAAN fighter. Turkey was removed from the F‑35 programme in 2019 after it purchased the Russian S‑400 air‑defence system, triggering US sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The letter reiterates that those sanctions remain in force, that Turkey still operates the S‑400, and that US law bars any transfer of F‑35 aircraft while the issue is unresolved. Advocacy groups such as the American‑Greek Institute and the Hellenic American Leadership Council have mobilised supporters to contact their members of Congress, warning that selling the jets would send the “wrong message” to US allies in the Eastern Mediterranean.