The lawmakers said allowing Turkey to obtain the jets while still possessing a Russian missile defense system ‘would jeopardize the integrity of F-35 systems’ and ‘expose U.S. military secrets to Russian intelligence’
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Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II a fifth generation fighter jet during a flight demonstration while landing, at Paris Air Show 2025 at Le Bourget Airport.
A bipartisan group of 40 House members is urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to maintain the U.S. ban on exporting advanced F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, amid ongoing reports that the U.S. and Turkey are negotiating to allow the sale of the jets.
“We strongly urge the Administration to review the facts and reject Turkey’s attempt to rewrite the history of its violation of U.S. law and national security policy,” the lawmakers said in a letter to Rubio on Thursday.
The group highlighted that President Donald Trump, during his first term, signed the law that bans the sale of the F-35s to Turkey in light of its purchase of an S-400 missile defense system from Russia.
“Nearly a decade later, Turkey still possesses S-400 systems and has shown no willingness to comply with U.S. law. This behavior cannot be rewarded,” the letter reads. “Lifting sanctions or allowing Turkey back into the F-35 program without first removing its S-400s would jeopardize the integrity of F-35 systems; expose U.S. military secrets to Russian intelligence; undermine our defense industrial base and allied confidence in purchasing future U.S. platforms; and disrupt development of the next-generation fighter jet recently announced by the Administration.”
The lawmakers emphasized that U.S. policy on the issue has been consistent across administrations and parties.
They said that the U.S. must “uphold U.S. law, maintain CAATSA sanctions, and protect American defense and intelligence assets” and “continue to hold allies and adversaries alike accountable when their actions threaten U.S. interests.”
The letter was led by Reps. Chris Pappas (D-NH), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Dina Titus (D-NV) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), who lead the Congressional Hellenic Caucus.
The letter is supported by the American Jewish Committee, Christians United for Israel Action Fund and FDD Action as well as the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, the American Hellenic Institute, American Friends of Kurdistan, Armenian National Committee of America, Coordinated Effort of Hellenes, the Hellenic American Leadership Council, Middle East Forum and the International Coordinating Committee Justice for Cyprus.