A bipartisan group of U.S. House members sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urging them not to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, arguing that Ankara's Russian S-400 air defense system poses a direct threat to American military aircraft and could allow Russian intelligence to obtain sensitive U.S. technology. The lawmakers also warned the sale would send a wrong signal to key U.S. partners in the eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, Cyprus, and Israel, and encourage further Turkish aggression in the region.
A bipartisan group of U.S. House members has sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urging them to block the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, warning that Ankara's possession of the Russian S-400 air defense system poses a direct intelligence and operational threat to American military aircraft, including the F-16 and F-35 themselves.
The letter, reported by journalist Amichai Stein (i24NEWS), argues that operating the two systems side by side would allow Russian intelligence to gather sensitive data on U.S. stealth technology. The lawmakers further cautioned that approving the sale would send a 'wrong message' to key U.S. allies in the eastern Mediterranean — Greece, Cyprus, and Israel — which have consistently aligned with American security interests, while encouraging Turkey to escalate its regional aggression.
The pushback comes as the Trump administration has signaled willingness to approve the sale, with President Trump saying on Thursday he would likely approve the transfer of F-35s and F-110 engines to Ankara, and Vice President Vance stating a legal review was underway. As The Zioneer has reported, Israeli security officials and analysts have warned that the sale would erode Israel's qualitative military edge and regional air superiority, given Turkey's growing anti-Israel posture under President Erdogan.
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Source and signal
- Internal intake