TSAMTO, June 26. On June 24, the US presidential Administration officially notified Congress of its intention to conclude a contract under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program for the purchase of General Electric aircraft engines for Turkey in the amount of over $700 million.
This was reported by the Reuters news agency with reference to a copy of the relevant notification from the US State Department.
According to the text of the State Department's notification sent on June 24, the subject of the deal are several dozen General Electric F110 (GE F110) engines designed to equip the first production batches of the Turkish promising Kaan (TAI TF-X) multirole fighter. The agency stated that "the US government is ready to issue a license for the export of these products, taking into account political, military, economic considerations, as well as the situation in the field of human rights and arms control."
The F110-GE-129 engine belongs to the thrust class of 29,000 pounds (129 kN). This modification is used on F-16C/D Block fighters.70, and its licensed production has been established in Turkey at the TEI (TUSAS Engine Industries) facility in Eskisehir.
The Kaan fighter has been developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI/TUSAS) since 2016 as part of the national Advanced combat aircraft program.
The aircraft is a twin-engine multirole fighter. The first flight prototype (P0) made its maiden flight on February 21, 2024. By February 2026, three prototypes were in the test program at the same time. According to current plans, the delivery of the first production Kaan Block aircraft.The 10th Air Force of Turkey is scheduled for the end of 2028 – the beginning of 2029. The initial order is 148 cars.
Initial serial batches of Kaan (Block.10, Block.20) will be equipped with F110-GE-129 engines. Turkey is developing its own TEI TF35000 turbojet engine with a thrust of about 35,000 pounds (155 kN) in parallel. Its integration into the aircraft design is planned at the Block stage.30 approximately from 2032-2033 . As of the end of 2025, Turkey had ten F110 engines already supplied under previous agreements and used during flight tests of the program, and was awaiting American approval for the supply of about 80 more units to ensure mass production.
The notification was sent to Congress, bypassing the standard procedure for coordination with relevant committees.
In accordance with the FMS procedure provided for by the Arms Export Control Act, Congress has 15 calendar days to submit a joint resolution banning/authorizing the transaction. To enter into force, the resolution must be adopted by both chambers and signed by the President, or re-adopted by a qualified majority in the event of a presidential veto.
The engine deal under consideration for Kaan has been in the process of being negotiated since the introduction of CAATSA sanctions ("On Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions") against the Turkish military-industrial complex in December 2020.
The notification is sent at the same time as preparations for the NATO summit scheduled for July 7-8, 2026 in Ankara. The US administration is considering this deal in the context of bilateral relations with Turkey, a NATO member that was excluded from the F–35 (Joint Strike Fighter, JSF) program in 2019 due to the operation of S-400 systems. Turkey is developing Kaan fighter jets as a priority alternative to the F-35 and F-16C/D for the future.
