Trump's Turkey visit may clear path for F110 jet engines, F-35 deadlock persists

US President Donald Trump's visit to Turkey for the Nato summit is expected to strengthen defence cooperation between Washington and Ankara.

According to an AFP report, the visit could pave the way for the supply of F110 fighter jet engines for Turkey's indigenous KAAN combat aircraft.

However, the long-running dispute over Turkey's participation in the F-35 fighter jet programme is unlikely to be resolved during the visit, the report said.

The two-day Nato summit, scheduled for July 7-8 in Ankara and hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is expected to provide an opportunity for both leaders to discuss key defence and security issues.

F110 engines could receive US approval

Last month, Trump said he would make Erdogan "very happy" when asked about Turkey's request to acquire additional F110 engines and its efforts to rejoin the F-35 programme.

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Trump's comments most likely refer to the approval of General Electric's F110 engines, which Turkey plans to use in its KAAN fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

According to the report, Turkey has already built and flown prototype KAAN aircraft powered by F110 engines but needs additional engines to expand testing and production.

The KAAN project, developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), is intended to replace Turkey's ageing fleet of F-16 fighter jets and establish the country among the limited number of nations capable of producing fifth-generation stealth aircraft.

Although Turkey ultimately plans to equip the aircraft with a domestically developed engine, Defence Minister Yasar Guler has previously said that project remains in the early stages. Turkey received its first batch of 10 F110 engines last year and has been seeking approval to purchase around 80 more.

S-400 purchase continues to cast shadow

The biggest obstacle remains Turkey's 2017 purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence system.

The acquisition prompted the US to remove Turkey from the F-35 programme in 2019 and impose sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) the following year.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said political approval from Washington remains necessary before additional engines can be exported to Turkey.

According to the report, access to the F110 engines is critical because Turkey cannot move the KAAN programme forward without them while its indigenous engine is still under development.

F-35 dispute likely to remain unresolved

Despite expectations of progress on the engine issue, experts believe Turkey's return to the F-35 programme remains uncertain.

They argue that lifting CAATSA sanctions would require support from the US Congress, where opposition to restoring Turkey's participation remains strong because of the S-400 purchase.

Some analysts note that while Trump may favour improving defence ties with Ankara, persuading Congress to ease sanctions could prove politically difficult.