Headlines
THE US Department of Defense announced on July 17 that it had started the process of ‘unwinding’ Turkey from the F-35 programme in response to Ankara’s decision to buy S-400 surface-to-air missiles.
Turkey took delivery of the first three shipments of components from the Russian-built air defence system at Mürted air base on July 12, and a fourth shipment arrived a day later. After rejecting a US counter-offer for the Patriot missile system, Turkey has emphasised that its S-400s will not be integrated into
NATO warfighting networks. In a statement, the White House said the F-35 “cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence-collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities”. However, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy David J Trachtenberg told reporters that America’s strategic partnership with Turkey remained unchanged and “as long-standing NATO allies, our relationship is multi-layered and extends well beyond the F-35”.
Turkey had planned to buy 100 F-35As and had a major role in the manufacturing and maintenance efforts, including a projected US$9bn workshare and responsibility for making around 900 components – including the centre fuselage and cockpit display.
