State Department’s response to September 2025 letter on Turkey F35 sales and NDAA compliance

United States Department of State

Washington, D.C. 20520

 

December 15, 2025

 

The Honorable Chris Pappas

House of Representatives

Washington, DC 20515

 

Dear Mr. Pappas:

 

Thank you for your September 25 letter to Secretary Rubio regarding discussions with Turkiye regarding potential U.S. F-16 and F-35 sales.

  

The Trump Administration is fully committed to protecting U.S. defense and intelligence interests and complying with U.S. law, including the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The U.S. position on Turkiye’s acquisition and continued possession of the Russian S-400 air defense system has not changed, and the requirements for Turkiye to acquire U.S. F-35 aircraft are clear and fully consistent with section 1245 of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

  

The United States has conveyed to the Turkish government our laws and policies related to its acquisition of Russian defense equipment and implications for acquisition of F-35 aircraft for Turkey. We have expressed our disapproval of Ankara’s acquisition of the S-400 and the legal requirements established by the NDAA and CAATSA.

  

Consistent with the provisions of the Arms Export Control Act, the F-16 sale was formally notified to Congress in January 2024, and the Congressional review period was completed that same month. Turkiye has the second-largest fleet of F-16s in NATO, after the United States, and plays an important role in NATO’s air defense. The F-16 sale will enable Turkiye to maintain this contribution to our collective security.

  

The U.S. defense relationship with Turkiye remains vital to the security interests of both the United States and NATO. Turkiye remains an important NATO Ally that has contributed significantly, including by deploying F-16s to support NATO Air Policing in the Baltics and by deploying a Turkish AWACS aircraft to Lithuania under NATO assurance measures following Russia’s violation of Lithuanian airspace in September. We respect Congressional oversight of arms transfers and welcome continued dialogue on how to balance NATO readiness with U.S. law and policy constraints. In addition, we continue to engage Ankara on resolving the S-400 issue while strengthening areas where our NATO cooperation remains critical.

  

We hope this information is helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of further assistance.

 

Sincerely,

                 

Paul D. Guaglianone

Senior Bureau Official Bureau 

of Legislative Affairs