Pentagon and White House Have Announced: Turkey Suspended from F-35 Program

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After Russia started the delivery of S-400 defense missile system to Turkey on July 12, two official statements came from the US last night (July 17).

In a press release made by the US Department of Defense on 10 p.m. local time in Turkey, it has been announced that "the United States is 'unwinding' Turkey from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program as a result of the country buying the Russian S-400 air defense missile system."

'It is an unfortunate development'

Taking the floor first in their statement for the press, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy David J. Trachtenberg referred to the suspension of the country from the F-35 program as "unfortunate" and stated that "the US government has worked tirelessly to avoid the necessity."

"But let me be clear, the United States greatly values our strategic relationship with Turkey — that remains unchanged. As long-standing NATO allies, our relationship is multilayered and extends well beyond the F-35 partnership. We will continue our extensive cooperation with Turkey across the entire spectrum of our relationship", he indicated further.

'All F-35 partners are aligned in this decision'

Speaking after Trachtenberg, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen M. Lord also stated, "The United States and other F-35 partners are aligned in the decision to suspend Turkey from the program and initiate to process to formally remove Turkey from the program."

"Turkey cannot field a Russian intelligence collection platform in proximity to where the F-35 program makes repairs and houses F-35s. Much of the F-35 strengths lie in its stealth capabilities. So the ability to detect those capabilities would jeopardize the long-term security of the F-35 program. We seek to protect the security of the F-35", Lord indicated further.

White House: It is now impossible

Around an hour before the above statement, the White House also released a statement on its website and stated the following:

"Unfortunately, Turkey's decision to purchase Russian S-400 air defense systems renders its continued involvement with the F-35 impossible. The F-35 cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities.

"The United States has been actively working with Turkey to provide air defense solutions to meet its legitimate air defense needs, and this Administration has made multiple offers to move Turkey to the front of the line to receive the U.S. PATRIOT air defense system.

"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.

"This will have detrimental impacts on Turkish interoperability with the Alliance. The United States still greatly values our strategic relationship with Turkey. As NATO Allies, our relationship is multi-layered, and not solely focused on the F-35.

"Our military-to-military relationship is strong, and we will continue to cooperate with Turkey extensively, mindful of constraints due to the presence of the S-400 system in Turkey." (PT/SD)