The United States said Monday it was halting all deliveries and joint work with Turkey on the F-35 fighter jet program after the NATO ally insisted on a major arms purchase from Russia.
After months of warnings, the United States said that Turkey’s decision to buy Russia’s S-400 missile system was incompatible with remaining part of the emblematic US warplane program.
“Until they forgo delivery of the S-400, the United States has suspended deliveries and activities associated with the stand-up of Turkey’s F-35 operational capability,” Pentagon chief spokesman Charles E. Summers Jr. said.
“Should Turkey procure the S-400, their continued participation in the F-35 program is at risk,” he said in a statement.
US officials have voiced concern that, with Turkey in both camps, Russia could obtain F-35 data to improve the accuracy of the S-400 against Western aircraft.
The Pentagon said that it had started to look at secondary sources to produce parts for F-35s that were being developed in Turkey.
“We very much regret the current situation facing our F-35 partnership with Turkey, but the (Defense Department) is taking prudent steps to protect the shared investments made in our critical technology,” Summers said.
Turkey had planned to buy 100 F-35A fighter jets, with pilots already training in the United States. The plane’s manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, said that contracts with Turkish companies to build parts for the F-35 had been expected to reach $12 billion.
Among the eight Turkish companies involved in the purchase, Ayesas has been building a panoramic cockpit display for the F-35 and Fokker Elmo makes 40 percent of the electrical wiring and interconnection system, according to Lockheed Martin.
The purchase of a Russian system is highly unusual for a member of NATO, the Western alliance forged to counter the Soviet Union.
The US suspension announcement comes two days before foreign ministers from the 29 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are due in Washington to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the alliance — and hours after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP party suffered a surprise rout in elections in major cities including Istanbul.
Erdogan, whose relations with the West have soured sharply as he cracks down on dissent at home, has increasingly looked to Moscow as a partner. Russian tourists have made Turkey their top destination, providing a vital economic boost.
Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to Turkey, where Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu insisted that the S-400 purchase would go ahead.
