US Congress keeps brake on Türkiye’s fifth-gen fighter programme

While the second prototype of Türkiye’s indigenously developed Kaan fifth-generation fighter is now well under construction, finding powerplants for production Kaan fighters is presenting manufacturer Turkish Aerospace with a problem.

The second Kaan prototype was evident in the background of a photograph released by the Turkish Armed Forces Strengthening Foundation (TSKGV) on 26 September 2025. The photograph showed a visit to the facilities of Turkish Aerospace at Kahramankazan, near Ankara, by a TSKGV delegation, which was standing in front of the first Kaan prototype. While appearing to lack any wings or tail structure, the internal framework of the second prototype’s fuselage appeared largely complete.

However, the Turkish foreign minister confirmed in New York on 26 September 2025 that licences for the export of US powerplants for the Kaan programme continue to be frozen by the US Congress.

On 14 December 2020 the US State Department announced sanctions against Türkiye under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), having the previous year suspended Turkish involvement in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme. This was due to Ankara’s insistence on proceeding with the acquisition of the Russian S-400 air defence system, which the US government had warned would expose the stealth advantages of the F-35 through Turkish hosting of Russian technicians. As well as a ban on all defence-related US export licences to Türkiye, this also led to the country ultimately ejected from the F-35 programme entirely.

After hosting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the White House in Washington, DC, on 25 September 2025, US President Donald Trump hinted of the potential for Türkiye to be allowed to buy F-35s if it stopped buying Russian oil, although this seems problematic, given that Ankara proceeded with its S-400 purchase.

However, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated on 26 September, “At present, the F-35s we are expecting and Kaan’s engines are being held up in the US Congress, with their export licences frozen. Those licences must be activated and the engines delivered so that Kaan’s production can move forward.”

While the first Kaan prototype is powered by two US General Electric F110-GE-129 turbofans – from an initial batch of such powerplants delivered to Turkish Aerospace prior to the US sanctions – clearly multiple dozens of turbofans would be required for the Kaan to be put into production.

While Türkiye’s Tusaş Engine Industries (TEI) and TRMotor are jointly developing an indigenous powerplant intended for the Kaan in the form of the TF35000 turbofan, this is not likely to be ready for integration on the aircraft before 2032.

Fidan indicated in his statement that Türkiye would be forced to seek an alternative powerplant supplier if the CAATSA issue remains unresolved. China’s WS series of fighter powerplants could provide one potential solution in this regard.

While Türkiye remains a member of NATO, the foreign policy stance of the Erdoğan administration has often put the country at odds with the alliance. Acquisition of the S-400 system was a classic example of this, but more recently Erdoğan has continued to maintain cordial relationships with NATO adversaries China and Russia. When the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held its 2025 summit in Tianjin, China, for example, Erdoğan was among the national leaders there in conference with Chinese President Xi Jinpeng and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

One additional question related to the Kaan programme and defence export licences for Türkiye is the extent to which the US government might be inclined to contribute to the development of a fifth-generation fighter that, a decade from now, would produce an additional rival to the F-35 for international fighter sales.

Meanwhile, if the CAATSA sanctions on Türkiye remain and Ankara does, indeed, pursue, for example, a Chinese powerplant solution for the Kaan, then any continued block on acquiring F-35s will become increasingly irrelevant.