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President Trump is signaling he wants to bring Turkey back into the F-35 fighter jet program, reversing a ban that’s been in place since 2019. The move, timed ahead of a NATO summit scheduled for July 7 in Ankara, could reshape defense sector economics and redraw the geopolitical risk map that crypto and traditional markets increasingly trade on.
Turkey was kicked out of the F-35 program after it bought Russia’s S-400 air defense system, a decision that infuriated Washington and triggered sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. Now Trump appears ready to hit the undo button, telling reporters on June 24-25 that he plans to take actions that would “please” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the jets and associated F110 engines.
Congress isn’t exactly on board
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers began drafting a Joint Resolution of Disapproval as of June 29, aiming to block Turkey’s reinstatement in the program unless full legal compliance is verified.
Vice President JD Vance confirmed a review is underway to ensure any deal satisfies US law. The core issue remains Turkey’s S-400 purchase, which lawmakers on both sides of the aisle view as fundamentally incompatible with access to America’s most advanced stealth fighter.
The F-35 program, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is the most expensive weapons system in history. Turkey was both a buyer and a supplier of components before its removal. Restoring access would mean reopening supply chains, renegotiating contracts, and potentially reshuffling production timelines that affect defense contractors across multiple countries.
The NATO summit as a catalyst
The July 7 NATO summit in Ankara provides the stage for this drama to play out. Trump and Erdogan will meet face-to-face, and the F-35 discussion is expected to be a centerpiece. Turkey has been angling for this moment since its expulsion from the program seven years ago.
For investors watching this space, the key variable isn’t what Trump says at the summit. It’s what Congress does afterward. The Joint Resolution of Disapproval represents a concrete legislative mechanism to block the deal, and bipartisan opposition to Turkey’s S-400 purchase hasn’t softened meaningfully since 2019. If lawmakers force a vote and the resolution passes, it would be a rare rebuke of presidential foreign policy authority.
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