In this episode, the Hollings Center’s Michael Carroll speaks with Hakan Akbaş and Michael Reynolds about the evolving state of Türkiye-US Defense Relations, with a particular focus on defense cooperation, strategic mistrust, and new opportunities for pragmatic engagement. The conversation traces the relationship from its Cold War foundations through more recent periods of strain, including disagreements over Iraq, Syria, the YPG/SDF, Türkiye’s purchase of the Russian S-400 system, CAATSA sanctions, and Türkiye’s removal from the F-35 program.

Rather than treating the relationship as simply broken or transactional, the guests emphasize its long institutional history and continued strategic importance. They discuss how geography, regional instability, NATO obligations, and shared security concerns have repeatedly drawn Washington and Ankara back toward cooperation, even during periods of deep frustration. Current conflicts and regional pressures—including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, Iranian missile and drone threats, Black Sea security, and energy corridor politics—underscore why the relationship remains difficult but indispensable.

The episode also looks ahead. Akbaş and Reynolds consider what meaningful progress might look like over the next few years, including renewed defense industry cooperation, air and missile defense coordination, unmanned systems, F-16 and F-35-related questions, and potential pathways for easing sanctions-related barriers. They also explore how Türkiye’s growing defense industry and its role in NATO, the Black Sea, the Caucasus, and broader regional security could create openings for a more practical reset.

For listeners interested in NATO, Middle East security, U.S. foreign policy, Türkiye’s defense sector, or the future of transatlantic cooperation, this episode offers a timely and candid discussion of one of Washington’s most important—and most complicated—strategic relationships.