Turkey Seeks 40+ F110 Engines for KAAN as Trump Visits NATO Summit

For the defense aerospace sector, the real story behind the Trump-Erdoğan meeting is supply chain: the F110 engine greenlight would directly fuel serial production of what could become NATO’s next indigenous stealth platform. Turkey’s ability to scale the KAAN from prototype to squadron depends on U.S. propulsion technology, making this a live test case of how political relationships gate industrial outcomes in advanced military aviation.

The long-simmering dispute between the United States and Türkiye over defense technology is approaching a critical inflection point as President Donald Trump prepares to attend the July 7-8, 2026 NATO summit in Ankara. At stake is the supply of General Electric F110 afterburning turbofan engines, which Türkiye urgently needs to power its indigenous KAAN fifth-generation stealth fighter program. Analysts now view Trump's transactional approach to foreign policy as a catalyst that could finally break the logjam, even as the deeper wounds over the F-35 program and Russian S-400 deal remain untreated. The core of the opportunity lies in a series of signals: Trump's promise last month to make President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan 'very happy,' followed by the visit itself, which is widely expected to yield a deal on the F110s. Sinan Ülgen of the EDAM think tank told AFP that the outcome is likely 'a green light for about 40 F110 GE engines,' a supply that had been blocked by lingering export-control hurdles. This would mark a major victory for Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), which has already produced two flying prototypes of the KAAN using ten engines delivered in September 2025. Defense Minister Yaşar Güler confirmed in September that negotiations were ongoing for an additional 80 engines, a number that underscores the program's ambition to replace the aging F-16 fleet and elevate Türkiye into the exclusive club of nations fielding fifth-generation combat aircraft, alongside the U.S., China, and Russia.

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Sinan Ülgen of the EDAM think tank told AFP that the outcome is likely 'a green light for about 40 F110 GE engines,' a supply that had been blocked by lingering export-control hurdles.

The immediate tactical benefit is clear: the F110 engines, while not stealth-optimized, will allow TAI to ramp up production and testing of KAAN airframes. Eventually, the platform is intended to receive a domestically developed engine, but that project is still in preliminary design. The existing GE powerplants, proven in the F-15 and F-16, provide a mature, reliable workhorse solution that bridges the gap. For Türkiye, the stakes transcend mere industrial capability; they touch national prestige and the strategic autonomy Ankara has pursued under Erdoğan. The KAAN project, originally launched to reduce dependency on foreign suppliers, ironically requires U.S. engines at this stage, exposing the tension at the heart of Turkish defense policy.