Turkish leadership knew this was coming from all my reading and reportingDefense News
"WASHINGTON — The U.S. has removed Turkey from the F-35 joint strike fighter program, and Turkey will lose its production work on the jet by March 2020, following its acceptance of the S-400 Russian-made air defense system last Friday.However, a top Pentagon official would not close the door on Turkey rejoining the program in some form, should it reverse the decision to buy the S-400.The White House issued a statement Wednesday confirming the move, which Washington had threatened for months.“Turkey’s decision to purchase Russian S-400 air defense systems renders its continued involvement with the F-35 impossible,” the White House statement read. “The F-35 cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities.”
“Turkey has been a longstanding and trusted partner and NATO Ally for over 65 years, but accepting the S-400 undermines the commitments all NATO Allies made to each other to move away from Russian systems," the statement continued.Shortly after the statement was released, the Pentagon held a rare on-camera press conference to explain the process moving forward, with Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition Ellen Lord and Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy David Trachtenberg.
“Turkey cannot field a Russian intelligence collection platform in proximity to where the F-35 program makes repairs, and houses the F-35,” Lord said. “Much of the F-35's strength lies in its stealth capabilities, so the ability to detect those capabilities would jeopardize the long term security of the F-35 program. We seek only to protect the long term security of the F-35 program.”
Turkey, a partner in the F-35 program that helped fund the development of the jet, planned to buy 100 F-35As. Its first jet was rolled out in June 2018 in a festive “delivery ceremony." Though Turkey formally owns its jets, the U.S. has said it has the power to keep the planes from moving to Turkish soil and intends to keep all four existing Turkish jets from leaving the U.S.
Lord avoided saying that the door was shut on Turkey returning to the program should the S-400 be removed from its soil and repeatedly used the term “suspension” to characterize Turkey’s status in the F-35 program. When asked twice whether Turkey could be welcomed back if the situation changes, Lord did not give a direct answer one way or the other.“At this point, the Turks have made a decision. We have said the F-35 and S-400 are incompatible. We will work forward at this point to unwind the relationship," she said.
The Russian defence ministry has published footage of what it says are the first components of the system being delivered to Turkey BBC
Turkey has so far not publicly reacted to the latest US move, which was widely expected.
From yesterday:
More coverage linked below... because the issue of the S-400 purchase and all that it entails has been covered here at PFYT's for a long, long time.
Turkey's S-400 purchase: Syrian Escalation and Worsening of the Eastern Mediterranean Situation and S-400 Arrives in Turkey. What's next? & U.S Forces Staying in Northern Syria INDEFINITELY & Will U.S. Bill Create a NEW ORDER/REMAKE in Eastern Mediterranean?
Also: S-400's set to arrive in Turkey. US Set to Trigger Sanctions. Turkey’s Central Banker Fired as well as... Ankara Hosts Iran, Russia, Turkey Summit in August- Reyhanli Bombingor Eastern Mediterranean: LNG, Petro dollar, Nation Breaking/Remaking
From a comment earlier this week
PennyJuly 13, 2019 at 3:26 PM
Hey GC: yes Turkey was involved in the manufacture of the F-35 as well as having invested around 1 billion dollars in the f-35 program- https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/b2d60398-e38d-4698-8b4f-de9797c068f5"Ankara has invested over one billion dollars in the F-35 program. It was supposed to receive 100 planes, as well as produce components for the fighter."and https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-turkey/u-s-starts-unwinding-turk… trainingandhttps://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/07/a-messy-multibillion-dollar-deal-betwee… also added that currently Turkish industries produce approximately 937 parts for the F-35 jet, most of which are related to aircraft landing gear.