Ankara, September 30 - In a stunning revelation that has sent shockwaves through the global aerospace community, Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan disclosed on September 28, 2025, that the United States Congress has effectively stalled the export of General Electric F110 engines critical for the nation's flagship KAAN fifth-generation fighter jet program. This development, described by Fidan as a "deliberate obstruction" to Turkey's pursuit of defense independence, underscores deepening rifts within NATO alliances and highlights the geopolitical leverage wielded by Washington over key military technologies. The KAAN, officially known as the Milli Muharip Uçak (National Combat Aircraft), represents Turkey's bold ambition to join the elite club of fifth-generation stealth fighter producers, akin to the U.S. F-35 or China's J-20, with its sleek design promising advanced avionics, supercruise capabilities, and low-observable features to modernize the Turkish Air Force's aging F-16 fleet. Yet, the program's early prototypes, including the maiden flight in February 2024 and subsequent tests, have relied on the proven F110-GE-129 turbofan engines, each delivering up to 29,000 pounds of thrust with afterburner, sourced from GE Aerospace under a pre-sanctions agreement. Fidan's comments, delivered during a press conference in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly, came amid stalled export license approvals, forcing Ankara to confront the harsh realities of international arms trade dependencies. This impasse not only jeopardizes the production timeline for the initial Block 0 and Block 1 variants, slated for delivery starting in 2028, but also amplifies Turkey's vocal frustrations over CAATSA sanctions imposed since 2019 for its acquisition of Russian S-400 systems. As Fidan warned, persistent blocks could push Turkey toward "alternatives within the international system," potentially accelerating overtures to non-Western suppliers and reshaping alliances in the volatile Black Sea and Mediterranean theaters.
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The roots of this GE F110 export stall trace back to a labyrinth of U.S. legislative hurdles and bilateral tensions that have plagued Turkey's defense aspirations for years. The F110 engine, a workhorse powering not just upgraded F-16s but also elements of the KAAN's interim configuration, was intended as a bridge technology until Turkey's indigenous TF35000 engine, developed by TRMotor in collaboration with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), enters service around 2032. However, the U.S. Congress, citing national security concerns tied to Turkey's Russian ties and regional maneuvers like its support for Ukraine or disputes with Greece, has withheld the necessary export authorizations, leaving a backlog of undelivered units that could cripple the assembly of up to 20 initial aircraft. This echoes past frictions, including the 2019 expulsion from the F-35 program, where Turkey's $1.5 billion investment evaporated overnight, and more recent delays in F-16 modernization packages worth $23 billion. Defense analysts point to the influence of pro-Israel and Greek-American lobbies in Congress as exacerbating factors, framing the KAAN engine block as part of a broader strategy to curb Ankara's military autonomy. Turkish officials, including the Presidency of Defense Industries head Haluk Görgün, have downplayed the crisis, insisting that existing stockpiles from F-16 maintenance could sustain prototype work and that ground tests for the domestic engine begin in 2026. Yet, Fidan's unfiltered critique exposes internal discord, with critics like journalist İsmail Saymaz amplifying claims on social media that production has "halted entirely," fueling a patriotic backlash among Turkey's defense enthusiasts who decry it as economic warfare disguised as security policy.
Beyond the technical hurdles, the stalled GE F110 exports for the KAAN fighter jet carry profound implications for Turkey's burgeoning role as a defense exporter and its strategic positioning in a multipolar world. The KAAN program, with an estimated $10 billion investment, is not merely a domestic endeavor but a cornerstone of Ankara's export-driven defense industry, which has already notched successes with Bayraktar drones sold to over 30 nations. Indonesia's landmark July 2025 contract for 48 KAAN jets, valued at potentially $5 billion, hinges on reliable engine supply chains, and any prolonged delay risks eroding confidence among prospective buyers like Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and even Egypt, which joined the program for co-production earlier this year. This bottleneck amplifies Turkey's pivot toward self-reliance, spurring investments in the Istanbul-based TRMotor consortium to fast-track the TF35000, a 35,000-pound-thrust powerplant that promises full indigenous integration and immunity from foreign vetoes. Geopolitically, the episode strains NATO cohesion at a time when Turkey's veto power over Sweden's accession and its mediation in Ukraine grain deals underscore its indispensability; U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's reported push for F-35 sales to Ankara could offer a diplomatic offramp, but only if bundled with engine approvals. For the Turkish Air Force, facing a squadron shortfall amid rising threats from Syria to the Aegean, the KAAN's delay means prolonged reliance on fourth-generation platforms, potentially inviting opportunistic arms deals from rivals like Russia or China. As Fidan emphasized, this is no isolated spat but a litmus test for equitable burden-sharing in alliances, where technology transfers must match rhetorical solidarity.
Looking ahead, the GE F110 export controversy for Turkey's KAAN stealth fighter could catalyze a renaissance in Ankara's aerospace sector or entrench a cycle of dependency that hampers its great-power pretensions. Optimists within TAI envision the impasse as a "springboard for genuine independence," accelerating partnerships with European firms like Rolls-Royce, despite a failed 2019 bid over intellectual property, or even exploring hybrid solutions from South Korea's KAI. Pessimists, however, warn of cascading delays: the second KAAN prototype, visible in assembly at TAI's Kahramankazan facility as of late September 2025, risks idling without certified engines, pushing initial operational capability beyond 2030 and inflating costs by billions. This saga also spotlights broader trends in fifth-generation fighter development, where nations like India grapple with similar U.S. engine withholdings for the Tejas, underscoring how export controls serve as soft power tools in an era of hybrid warfare. For Turkey, under President Erdoğan's assertive foreign policy, resolving the F110 stall demands deft diplomacy, perhaps leveraging its F-16 upgrade leverage or Black Sea security contributions, to extract concessions. Ultimately, as the KAAN program navigates this turbulence, it embodies Turkey's defiant quest for sovereignty in the skies, where every thwarted engine shipment fuels the forge of national innovation, reminding the world that resilience often emerges from the ashes of imposed constraints.