Trump Reportedly Agrees to Sell GE Jet Engines for Turkey's KAAN Fighter Jet

United States President Donald John Trump said at the White House on Wednesday (24/6/2026) that he ‘might do something’ that would please Turkey, signalling a potential shift regarding Ankara’s requests for F-35 fighter jets and the engines needed for its domestically produced KAAN fighter jet programme. The positive news emerged ahead of the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey. Speaking to reporters during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House in Washington, DC, Trump pointed to Turkey’s NATO membership when asked whether he would go to Turkey ‘with a big bag of gifts.’ ‘Look, he’s a NATO member. Some people don’t think of him (as a NATO member), but he’s very much a NATO member. He’s a strong NATO member,’ Trump said in response to a journalist’s question, as reported by Daily Sabah. ‘Yes, I might do something that will make him very happy,’ he added. Turkey is preparing to host NATO leaders at the summit in the capital Ankara on 7-8 July 2026. Rutte, for his part, said Turkey has a ‘huge’ defence industrial base. Trump replied: ‘People don’t know how big Turkey is militarily. Very powerful. They have a lot of our equipment, a very powerful military, because of him.’ Trump added that he likely would not attend the summit if it were not being held in Turkey and hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. ‘I’m going out of respect for President Erdogan,’ Trump said. The engines to be sold to Turkey, produced by General Electric (GE), will power the KAAN fighter jet, a major Turkish project launched in 2016. It is part of the NATO member Ankara’s efforts to become more self-reliant in its defence.