US Moves KAAN Engine Sale Forward Over Meeks Objection
By Bosphorus News Defense Desk
President Donald Trump's administration is moving to advance a more than $700 million sale of U.S.-made General Electric engines for Türkiye's KAAN fighter program, despite an objection from Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The package covers dozens of GE F110 engines intended for KAAN, Türkiye's first domestically developed combat aircraft. Reuters reported that the sale involves 80 F110-GE-129 engines and is expected to move toward formal notification in the coming days, ahead of the NATO summit Türkiye will host in Ankara on July 7-8.
Meeks said the State Department informed him late on June 23 that it would proceed with formal notification of more than $700 million in defense articles for the Turkish military, despite his objection during the informal congressional review process.
His criticism centered on the administration's decision to move past a committee-level hold without invoking emergency authority, providing a written rationale or briefing him on the sale's implications for U.S.-Türkiye relations, Türkiye's continued possession of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system and regional security risks.
"This was a deliberate choice to shut Congress out," Meeks said in a June 24 statement, adding that the items covered by the sale "will not be delivered for years."
The dispute does not mean Congress has been formally removed from the arms-sale process. Major foreign military sales usually pass through an informal review by senior lawmakers before the State Department sends formal notification to Congress. That informal process can delay a sale, but it does not give lawmakers an automatic veto if an administration decides to proceed.
The KAAN engine file gives the dispute higher weight for Türkiye's defense industry. Turkish officials have argued for months that U.S. export-license delays were holding up the fighter program, which is designed to reduce long-term dependence on imported combat aircraft but still relies on American engines for its first production blocks.
KAAN made its first flight in February 2024 and remains one of Türkiye's highest-profile defense industry projects. The program is intended to replace part of the Turkish Air Force's aging F-16 fleet over time, though operational replacement will take years.
The engine package would not resolve the larger U.S.-Türkiye fighter-jet dispute. Türkiye was removed from the F-35 program after its acquisition of the S-400 system, and Washington imposed Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act measures on Türkiye's Presidency of Defense Industries in 2020.
The proposed sale is narrower than an F-35 settlement. It would give KAAN's early blocks access to a U.S. powerplant while Türkiye continues work on an indigenous engine for later stages of the program.
That distinction matters in Washington. Supporters of a limited defense opening with Türkiye can treat the KAAN engine sale as a controlled export decision rather than a full reversal of the F-35 ban. Critics can still argue that the administration is rewarding Türkiye before the S-400 file is resolved.
The timing adds a summit layer to the decision. Türkiye will host NATO leaders in Ankara on July 7-8, with alliance defense spending, burden-sharing, air defense, the Black Sea, the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz already on the agenda.
Movement on the engine package would give Türkiye's defense industry a concrete gain before the summit. The White House would reopen a limited defense channel with Türkiye without immediately reopening the full F-35 question.
The State Department has not publicly released a formal notification for the package. Reuters cited a State Department official as saying the department does not comment on pending arms transfers and that official correspondence with Congress is conducted through official channels.
Meeks' statement makes clear that the congressional fight is not over the price tag alone. It is also about whether the administration can push politically sensitive arms transfers forward when senior lawmakers are still demanding answers on Türkiye's S-400 system, regional conduct and the future of U.S.-Türkiye defense cooperation.
Sources: Reuters, House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats, U.S. State Department, Bosphorus News review and reporting.