The U.S. Has Already Built Six F-35 Fighters For the Turkish Air Force: Deliveries Expected Before 2027

Following confirmation that the United States and Turkey have reached a breakthrough in negotiating the latter’s return to the F-35 fifth generation fighter program, and reports from informed sources that Turkey will transfer its Russian S-400 long range air defence systems to the United Arab Emirates to facilitate this, the Turkish Air Force is likely to receive its first six of the new fighters by the end of 2026. Six fighters originally built for the Turkish Air Force remain in storage in the United States, more than seven years after Washington suspended Ankara from the program, with the aircraft having previously been expected to be delivered in 2020. The fact that the U.S. kept these fighters in storage, rather than selling them on to other clients in the long queue for the aircraft, indicates longstanding plans to negotiate a resumption of Turkish procurements.

Turkey was originally one of the nine founding international partners in the F-35 program, joining the project in 2002 and investing approximately $1.4 billion in its development. The Turkish Defence Ministry planned to acquire 130 F-35A fighters, while firms including Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), Kale Aerospace, Alp Aviation, AYESAS and Roketsan manufactured hundreds of structural components, landing gear assemblies, wiring systems, engine parts and cockpit displays. The country’s far lower labour costs than other NATO member states made it highly prized as a supplier of labour-intensive, less technologically complex components. 

The first Turkish F-35A was formally handed over during a ceremony in Texas in June 2018. Rather than being immediately transferred to Turkey, however, it remained in the United States for pilot training alongside additional aircraft entering production. By mid-2019, six aircraft had been completed for the Turkish Air Force, with Turkish pilots already undergoing conversion training at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. In July 2019, following delivery of the first S-400 batteries, Turkish pilots were expelled from U.S. training facilities, industrial participation was terminated, and delivery of all completed aircraft was suspended. Although the six fighters had already been manufactured specifically for Turkey, ownership remained with the U.S. government, which subsequently absorbed them into the wider American inventory rather than transferring them to another export customer.

Turkey’s six completed F-35s remain technically available. Since they were built to Turkish specifications before export restrictions were imposed, they can be delivered relatively quickly. Turkey has continued to play a central role within NATO, particularly in the Black Sea region, supporting the Ukrainian war effort against Russia, and providing critical backing to the jihadist insurgency against the Syrian state up to its total victory in 2024. The country’s return to the F-35 program, and retirement of its obsolete F-16C/D fleet, will represent a major boost to NATO air power in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, placing greater pressure on the defences of Russia and Iran, and helping to facilitate the redirection of U.S. forces towards the Asia-Pacific theatre.