Pentagon officials confirmed on Wednesday that Turkey has been removed from the F-35 fighter jet program, despite President Trump complaining about how “unfair” it was to America to have to do so just the day before.
US law established a mechanism for punishing other nations who buy
weapons from Russia, and threatened Turkey time and against for buying
the S-400. Turkey began taking delivery of the S-400, and that set the
US move to ban them from accessing the F-35 jets.
Trump didn’t like this, because the F-35 isn’t exactly flying off the
shelves and Turkey was a potential customer. Undersecretary of Defense
Ellen Lord argued that all the nations partnered on the F-35 are
“aligned in this decision to suspend Turkey.”
Other nations have largely not commented on the matter. The White House
issued a statement saying the F-35 could not coexist with the Russian
S-400 missiles. Lord said shifting the supply chain out of Turkey would
cost $500-$600 million.
Pentagon Confirms Removing Turkey From F-35 Fighter Jet Program
Undersecretary says other nations are aligned in decision to suspend Turkey
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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