The long-running U.S.–Turkish saga over the F-35 fifth-generation fighter jet and the S-400 surface-to-air missile system may come to an end as early as next year. Türkiye is not using the systems, but Ankara and Washington still need to determine their fate before Türkiye’s defense industry can rejoin the F-35 program.
As U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack stated on Friday, December 5, he is confident that “these issues will be resolved within the next four to six months” — meaning by spring 2026. He also noted that Türkiye is indeed moving closer to abandoning the russian S-400s. His remarks were reported by Bloomberg.
To briefly recap: the United States removed Türkiye from the F-35 program after Ankara purchased the russian S-400 system in 2017. Washington feared the system could compromise the aircraft’s stealth technology — either directly or indirectly, by allowing russia to obtain sensitive data on the fighter’s vulnerabilities.
In recent years, however, the situation has somewhat eased, and the U.S. and Türkiye have increasingly discussed ways to resolve the issue, given Ankara’s clear desire to return to the F-35.
The S-400 SAM system / Open-source illustrative photo
The key unresolved question remains: what to do with the S-400s already delivered to Türkiye? No definitive solution has been found. One earlier proposal involved a largely symbolic arrangement in which the systems would remain in Türkiye but be placed under U.S. military control.
There were even suggestions that the U.S. might readmit Türkiye to the F-35 program if Ankara transferred the S-400s to Ukraine. Yet both then — and especially now — this appears highly unrealistic, particularly given President Trump’s stated intention to pursue a rapid peace agreement between Ukraine and russia. A bold step such as handing Ukraine a russian-made air-defense system would hardly support the American president’s diplomatic agenda.
It is also worth noting that in September reports emerged claiming that russia wanted to buy back Türkiye’s S-400s. However, there have been no official statements or credible leaks confirming such negotiations, leaving this claim speculative.
There remains some possibility that the fate of Türkiye’s S-400s could be resolved in a way favorable to russia — for example, the systems could end up in India, which recently announced plans to purchase additional S-400 units. At the same time, the scenario in which Türkiye directly returns the systems to russia appears unlikely, given that the United States would almost certainly oppose such a deal.
Read more: India’s Upcoming Deal Reveals Cost of russian S-400 Missiles