The US on Wednesday announced it is removing Turkey and Turkish firms from the F-35 stealth fighter program, following through on threats to do so over Ankara’s receipt of the Russian S-400 anti-air system.
“US STILL VALUES OUR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP”
The process will be completed by the end of March 2020, the Pentagon’s acquisition and procurement chief Ellen Lord told reporters in a major break with a key NATO ally.
“The US still values our strategic partnership with Turkey,” Lord said. “The Department of Defense and the US government more broadly have worked very hard to chart an alternative path that would enable Turkey to acquire air defense systems within NATO alliance standards for interoperability and still allow Turkey to remain within the F-35 partnership.”
She noted the US made efforts to supply Turkey with Patriot anti-air systems in a bid to have Ankara drop the S-400 purchase. The outreach, Lord said, had been underway since early 2017 when Turkey announced its interest in the Russian system.
US ADMINISTRATION HAS LONG THREATENED TURKEY
The Trump administration had threatened to expel Turkey from the F-35 program if it acquired the S-400, warning the anti-air system could be used by Moscow to covertly attain secret information on the stealth fighter and is incompatible with NATO systems.
“Much of the F-35’s strength lies in its stealth capabilities,” said Lord. “So the ability to detect those capabilities would jeopardize the long-term security of the F-35 program.”
US President Donald Trump said Turkey would not be allowed to purchase the F-35 jets on Tuesday, a fact he lamented, but whether or not Turkey would be allowed to continue to participate in the program was left in the air until the Pentagon’s announcement.