According to Firstpost, trump has praised Erdogan and signalled willingness to sell turkey F-35 jets and jet engines — reversing years of sanctions-driven exclusion. For india, the real takeaway is strategic: if a NATO-ambivalent turkey can extract premium defence technology through transactional diplomacy, New delhi must recalibrate what it demands — and what it offers — in its own defence relationship with Washington.
Here is the arithmetic of American defence diplomacy in one sentence: turkey bought Russian S-400 missiles, got kicked out of the F-35 programme, waited a few years, and is now being welcomed back with the very jets it was punished for losing — plus jet engines on the side. According to Firstpost's Vantage report, trump has publicly praised Erdogan and pushed for the resumption of F-35 and jet engine sales to Ankara. The official reason? Erdogan, trump claims, 'stayed out' of the iran conflict. The real reason? Washington's transactional calculus has a price for everything — and turkey just met it.
For india, watching from South Block, this is not a story about Ankara. It is a mirror. And what it reflects is uncomfortable.
India's Ministry of External Affairs has not publicly commented on the Trump-Erdogan F-35 discussions as of publication. india Herald has reached out to the MEA for comment; no response has been received at the time of publishing. The US State Department and Pentagon have also not issued formal statements on the proposed sales beyond Trump's public remarks as reported by Firstpost.
The S-400 Paradox: One Rule for turkey, Another for India?
Both india and turkey acquired Russia's S-400 air defence system — the purchase that, under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), was supposed to trigger US sanctions and permanently close the door on advanced American platforms. turkey was indeed expelled from the F-35 consortium. india received a partial waiver, but the shadow of CAATSA has hung over every subsequent defence negotiation, from armed MQ-9B Predator drones to GE-414 jet engines for the tejas Mark 2.
Now, according to Firstpost, trump is prepared to not just look past Turkey's S-400 purchase but actively reward Erdogan with the most advanced multirole fighter in the Western arsenal. If the S-400 is no longer a disqualifier for Ankara, New Delhi's negotiators must ask a pointed question: why is it still treated as a complicating factor in India-US defence trade?
What Erdogan Traded — And What india Has Not
The answer lies in the nature of the transaction. trump, as Firstpost reports, praised Erdogan specifically for restraining turkey during the iran crisis — framing the F-35 discussion not as forgiveness but as payment for services rendered. This is transactional diplomacy stripped of pretence: strategic behaviour buys strategic hardware.
india, by contrast, has historically approached Washington with the posture of a partner, not a transactor. New Delhi's pitch rests on shared democratic values, the Indo-Pacific strategic alignment, and the sheer scale of the indian defence market — which the Stockholm international Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) ranks as the world's largest arms importer by volume. But values-based diplomacy, however important, does not unlock F-35 hangars. What unlocks them is leverage — and turkey has demonstrated exactly the kind of leverage that gets results.
The Jet Engine Question india Cannot Ignore
Consider the GE-414 engine, a centrepiece of India-US defence industrial cooperation. india has been negotiating for years — first for licensed production, then co-production, then full technology transfer — to power the tejas Mark 2 and eventually the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Progress has been incremental, often agonisingly slow, tangled in US export-control regulations and Congressional scepticism.
Meanwhile, according to Firstpost's reporting, trump is actively pushing jet engine sales to Turkey. The irony is sharp enough to cut: india, which has not been sanctioned or expelled from any US programme, has struggled for years to get the very technology that turkey — a country literally removed from the F-35 programme for buying Russian equipment — is now being offered as a goodwill gesture.
The lesson is not that india should threaten or posture. It is that india should transact — with clear asks, clear offers, and clear consequences. What does Washington need from New delhi that only New delhi can provide? That is the currency that buys GE-414 technology transfer, not another Joint Statement about rules-based order.
The Erdogan Playbook: Charm, Threaten, Collect
Erdogan's diplomatic method is instructive precisely because it is so different from India's. He maintains NATO membership while purchasing Russian hardware. Analysts and Western commentators have long noted — as documented in multiple european media reports and think-tank assessments — that Ankara has leveraged the threat of opening european migration routes to extract EU concessions, a pattern that underscores Turkey's willingness to use disruptive leverage as a negotiating tool. He positions turkey as indispensable — a geographic chokepoint, a mediator, a potential spoiler — and then collects the premium for not being a problem.
trump, according to Firstpost, has responded to this exactly as Erdogan intended — with praise and hardware. The Turkish president, trump reportedly said, understood the importance of 'staying out' of the iran conflict. Reading between the lines, this is not admiration; it is relief. turkey could have been a headache. It chose not to be. And the price of that choice is F-35s.
india does not have Turkey's leverage of geographic disruption, nor should it want it. But india has something arguably more valuable: the world's largest defence import market by volume, according to SIPRI, a technology-hungry industrial base, and a strategic location that is the linchpin of every serious Indo-Pacific framework Washington has built since 2017. The question — and it is a question this analysis poses, not a verdict — is whether New delhi is extracting full value from those assets, or whether countries like turkey are simply playing the transactional game more effectively.
What New delhi Should Demand Now
If the Trump-Erdogan thaw crystallises into actual F-35 deliveries — still uncertain, given Congressional oversight and Greek-lobby opposition — India's defence diplomacy needs a recalibration. Three things should be on the table immediately:
First, full GE-414 technology transfer, not co-production with restrictive end-use conditions. If turkey gets jet engines, india should get the blueprints.
Second, a formal, public CAATSA waiver that removes the S-400 shadow from every future negotiation. The ambiguity has served Washington well; it should no longer serve india poorly.
Third, accelerated clearance for armed drone and advanced munitions transfers that have been stuck in interagency review for years. The MQ-9B Predator deal, in particular, has been a bellwether of how seriously Washington takes India's operational requirements — and the pace has not inspired confidence.
None of this requires hostility. It requires clarity — the clarity that Erdogan, for all his authoritarian instincts, has displayed in abundance.
The Trump-Erdogan embrace is not, at its core, about Turkey. It is about how Washington prices loyalty, how it discounts past transgressions, and how it responds to partners who know what they are worth. india knows what it is worth. It is time South Block's negotiators made sure Washington does too.
This analysis reflects publicly available information as reported by Firstpost and SIPRI data. india Herald has sought comment from the Ministry of External Affairs; this article will be updated if and when a response is received.
Key Takeaways
- Trump has praised Erdogan and pushed for F-35 and jet engine sales to turkey, effectively reversing the penalty imposed for Turkey's S-400 purchase, according to Firstpost.
- Both india and turkey bought Russian S-400 systems; if the purchase is no longer disqualifying for Ankara, india should press for a formal CAATSA waiver and full technology transfer on the GE-414 engine.
- Turkey's transactional diplomacy — trading strategic restraint during the iran crisis for advanced hardware — offers a template India's defence negotiators should study carefully.
- India remains the world's largest arms importer by volume according to SIPRI, but has not extracted defence-tech concessions commensurate with that market leverage.
- Congressional oversight and allied opposition (particularly from Greece) could still block actual F-35 deliveries to turkey, making this a moving target.
- India's MEA has not publicly commented on the Trump-Erdogan F-35 discussions; india Herald has sought comment and will update this report upon receiving a response.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Erdogan a trump supporter?
Erdogan's relationship with trump is transactional rather than ideological. According to Firstpost, trump praised Erdogan for 'staying out' of the iran conflict, and Erdogan has leveraged this restraint to push for restoration of F-35 sales. Their alignment is strategic, not partisan.
How is Trump's relationship with Turkey?
According to Firstpost, Trump's relationship with turkey under Erdogan has warmed significantly, with trump publicly praising Erdogan and pushing for F-35 jet and jet engine sales — a reversal of the freeze imposed after Turkey's S-400 purchase from Russia.
Has turkey been removed from the F-35 programme?
Yes. turkey was expelled from the F-35 consortium after purchasing Russia's S-400 air defence system, which the US deemed incompatible with NATO security. However, according to Firstpost, trump is now signalling a willingness to reverse this exclusion.
What does the Trump-Erdogan F-35 deal mean for India?
If turkey — which was sanctioned for buying Russian S-400s — can regain access to F-35s, India's defence negotiators should press Washington harder for full GE-414 engine technology transfer, a formal CAATSA waiver, and accelerated clearance for advanced munitions, since india carries a similar S-400 burden but offers a far larger defence market according to SIPRI.
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