U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Thursday morning the administration is reviewing whether Turkey meets legal requirements for the F-35 fighter jet sale, noting President Trump ordered the review and that an announcement will follow. Trump said separately he will likely approve the sale, calling Ankara a strong NATO member, according to reports cited by Israeli sources.
Vice President JD Vance confirmed Thursday morning that the Trump administration is conducting a legal review to determine whether Turkey has satisfied all requirements under U.S. law to receive F-35 fighter jets, as reported by Israeli media and attributed to Vance’s statement. The review, Vance said, was ordered by President Trump and primarily concerns congressional oversight. He added that an announcement would follow once the examination is complete.
Separately, President Donald Trump stated he will likely approve the sale, calling Ankara a “strong” NATO member. The remarks, published by the Israeli-linked the source Yedioth News 25, come after The Zioneer reported earlier this morning (08:15) that Trump signaled approval of the F-35 sale as well as F-110 engines for Turkey’s domestic KAAN fighter project. The administration had already approved engine sales worth hundreds of millions of dollars last Wednesday.
It remains unclear when the formal review will conclude or whether Congress will raise objections. Turkey has sought to rejoin the F-35 program after being removed in 2019 over its acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile system.
2 developments
- StrongTrump says he will likely approve F-35 and engine sale to Turkey
- DevelopingMark Levin urges Trump to halt F-35 transfers to Turkey
- StrongTrump says deal signing possible this weekend in Europe, with Vance attending
- DevelopingCommentator warns F-35 sale to Turkey would erode IDF's qualitative edge; Syria surprises loom
Source and signal
- Internal intake