White House Plans to Bypass Congress to Sell Engines for KAAN Fighter Jets to Turkey

The Donald Trump administration plans to use a procedure to bypass Congress’s decision in order to push through a $750 million deal to sell jet engines to Turkey.

Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks blocked the potential deal due to Turkey’s ongoing military-technical cooperation with Russia, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Specifically, the reason for blocking the deliveries is that Turkey still operates Russian S-400 air defense missile systems, purchased approximately ten years ago. In addition, US lawmakers have raised concerns about the Turkish government’s overall regional policy.

For their part, White House officials have already informed Congress of their intention to proceed with the deal despite the block. This move breaks with a long-standing practice whereby the US executive branch traditionally seeks the approval of key congressional members before concluding major defense contracts.

The deal concerns the sale of American F-110 aircraft engines. If approved, these engines are to be used by Turkey to power its domestically developed next-generation fighter jet, the KAAN.

Currently, the Turkish Air Force already operates this type of engine on its F-16 fighters, having the second-largest fleet of these aircraft in the world after the United States.

In addition, Turkish companies independently manufacture certain components for the aircraft engines under a US licensing program.