Yacov Bengo

The current U.S. administration is advancing a major deal, valued at over $700 million, to sell F110 engines to Turkey for its KAAN aircraft project. Despite the administration’s attempts to bypass congressional barriers, this move is not an isolated event; rather, it is a strategic accelerator intended to pave the way for Ankara’s full return to the F-35 program. While Washington’s rationale seeks to preserve Turkey as an anchor within NATO, in practice, it creates a serious dilemma and presents a weighty, threefold strategic risk: Undermining NATO from within: Empowering an actor that is engaged in aggressive competition against Western allies (such as Greece) and is entrenching a defiant military presence in Cyprus. Fueling Regional Friction: Granting legitimacy to a competitive power that provides a safe haven for Hamas and supports the al-Sharaa regime in Syria. Creating a Systemic Risk to the Global F-35 Network: Deploying 5th-generation capabilities in proximity to Russian S-400 systems risks compromising and cracking the information security of the platform as a whole. This threat is not limited to the erosion of Israel’s qualitative edge or the exposure of its defense industries; it constitutes a direct threat to every country in the world equipped with the F-35, alongside concerns over the possible proliferation of KAAN aircraft to additional militaries across the Sunni sphere.

One Superpower vs. Five Dictatorships: An Analysis of Global Power Relations

Conclusions from the main international event in the fields of aviation and space, which serves as clear evidence of China’s aspiration to lead in the areas of defense, space, and industry in the 21st century