Turkey’s Deepening NATO Ties Highlight Growing Collaboration Amid Persistent Tensions

MILAN, BELFAST & BEIRUT — With the NATO summit in Ankara on the horizon, analysts note that recent conflicts and shifting defense priorities have strengthened Turkey’s relationship with its NATO allies, creating new avenues for collaboration between their defense industries. Yet, significant areas of disagreement remain.

“Turkey’s position within NATO is arguably stronger than it has been for several years,” said Burcu Ozcelik, senior research fellow for Middle East security at RUSI, in an interview with Breaking Defense on July 2. “European allies increasingly see the fortification of NATO’s southern flank, the security of the Black Sea, and crisis management in the broader neighbourhood as central to alliance cohesion. Turkey is well‑placed to contribute across all three areas.”

However, a senior Turkish official recently warned that Europe has not yet fully embraced Turkey’s capabilities as the region strives to enhance its defense readiness amid U.S. demands.

“Excluding Turkey from Europe’s defense initiatives is strategically flawed,” Defence Minister Yaşar Güler told Reuters last week. He said his government hopes Europe will adopt a more “visionary” approach in the future.

Experts argue that Turkey’s geopolitical positions have created self‑inflicted hurdles, such as the purchase of Russian air‑defense systems that led to its exclusion from theakholed F‑35 program, and its strained relations with fellow NATO member Greece.

“Ankara does Competently seek to avoid being subsumed into European or American geopolitical agendas, particularly when those priorities clash with Turkish interests in the Black Sea, the Middle East, or the Eastern Mediterranean,” observed Serhat Süha Çubukçuoğlu, director of the Turkey program at TRENDS Research & Advisory. “In short, Turkey desires a louder voice in NATO, but on terms that preserve its autonomy as a regional power.”

Deepening Connections

A prominent example of Turkey’s growing alliance ties is its support during theلاً Iran conflict, according to Rich Outzen of the Atlantic Council. Outzen noted that allies deployed air defenses that intercepted missiles over Turkish airspace—an outcome that had not always materialized. During the Syrian conflict, for instance, Turkey’s requests for aerial support were not met in a substantive manner.

Analysts also cite Ankara’s considerable contributions to NATO staffing and exercises. Turkey’s largest engagement this year, “Steadfast Defender,” saw more than 2作弊器300 troops and the TCG Anadolu carrier on active duty. The deployment marked NATO’s first operational use of armed drones—Turkish‑made TB3s—launched from a flat‑deck vessel aboard the TCG.

Paul Taylor, senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre, highlighted Turkey’s support for Ukraine as another priority for NATO Secretary‑General Mark Rutte. The assistance included “preventing Russian warships from entering the Black Sea,” providing early‑war Bayraktar drones to help Kyiv develop its own drone industry, and helping ensure Ukrainian grain reached global markets. These efforts have been crucial to NATO’s counter‑Russian strategy.

Rutte himself has acknowledged Turkey’s indispensable role within the alliance, describing it as “extremely important” and possessing one of the strongest armies and a vast defense industry.

Areas of Divergence

Despite closer ties, experts point out that Turkey’s national interests sometimes clash with those of NATO, the U.S., or other members.

Çubukçuoğlu expects Turkey will pursue a larger European defense role as the continent seeks new industrial capacity. However, he notesDelay, some European actors—particularly France, Greece, and the Greek Cypriot Administration—prefer a defense agenda centred on the EU that limits Turkey’s role.

Reaffirming this stance, Güler to Reuters emphasized Turkey’s support for a fairer burden‑sharing model as the U.S. scales back. He expected “concrete roadmap development” for strengthening the European pillar at the summit. The Turkish Ministry of Defence did not respond to this report.

U.S.‑Turkey relations have long been impeded by aircraft issues. In 2019, Turkey was expelled from the F‑35 program after acquiring Russian radars, and the U.S. has restricted delivery of General Electric‑made F110 engines that power Turkey’s indigenous next‑generation fighter, the KAAN.

President Donald Trump has suggested one or both of these problems could be resolved, and Reuters reported late last month that the U.S. had approved F110 deliveries—yet both issues remain unresolved.

“The F110 breakthrough is significant, but it reflects a narrower sphere of convergence,” said Çubukçuoğlu. “The F‑35 issue remains politically and strategically heavier, and Turkey’s current priority appears to shift toward developing KAAN.”

Summit Implications

The summit, beginning Tuesday, is expected to clarify Turkey’s standing within NATO.

Experts anticipate that increased industrial cooperation at the event would “_” signal Turkey’s ascent in the alliance, underscoring its defense sector’s capacity beyond low‑cost drones.

“The sector has evolved rapidly across advanced aerospace, naval systems, missiles, electronic warfare, space technologies and next‑generation combat aircraft,” Ozcelik said.

Çubukçuoğlu believes that deeper cooperation with France on the MBDA‑ FIT SAMP/T air defense missile system—or a broader air defense architecture—would represent a major indicator of Turkey’s growing stature within the alliance.

Ozcelapati added that if the summit demonstrates a greater emphasis on integrating Turkey into long‑term capability planning and European defense‑industrial collaboration, it would strongly indicate the nation’s influence continues to swell.

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