US ready to greenlight Turkey’s F-35 fighter jet program if Ankara gives up Russian S-300s and S-400s
Washington is ready to resume Turkey’s F-35 fighter jet program only if Ankara agrees to stop using Russian S-300 and S-400 air defense missile systems, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said during the White House press briefing on Jan. 31.
“There’s no change to our view that the F-35 program for Turkey is incompatible with their use of the S-300 and S-400 missiles. So, we’re still having those discussions. And should Turkey be able to resolve our concerns about that, then there could be a restoration of — of moving into the F-35 program.”
Earlier, the Biden administration has announced its approved a $23 billion deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Turkey, after Ankara ratified Sweden’s NATO membership, according to the State Department.
The State Department will notify Congress of the agreement, as well as of a separate $8.6bn sale of 40 F-35s to Greece. Turkey will get 40 new F-16s and upgrades to 79 of the jets in its existing fleet.
The State Department notified Congress of its approval of the sale of $23 billion worth of aircraft to Turkey, as well as the sale of $8.6 billion worth of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Greece. Ankara has been promised 40 new F-16s and equipment to modernize 79 existing aircraft.
In 2017, when Turkey signed a contract with Russia to purchase the air defense system, U.S. officials opposed its deployment, arguing that the S-400 would be incompatible with NATO systems. Ankara rejected these concerns, stating that “the S-400 will not be integrated into NATO systems and do not pose a threat to the Alliance or its armaments.”
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