President Donald Trump took the first decisive step on Monday toward backing out of Turkey’s F-35 fighter program over the nation’s growing closeness to Russia.
The United States put deliveries of parts and manuals for the aircraft on hold as Turkey refuses to back down from plans to buy surface-to-air-missiles from Russia. The U.S. says that the arms deal could threaten the F-35 aircraft.
Trump denies fighter jets to Turkey
The U.S. is concerned that Turkey’s planned purchase of Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air-missiles, which target stealth aircraft like the F-35, could allow Russia to reverse engineer the jet. That could compromise the defense of NATO countries that use the F-35, which is the most advanced plane in the U.S. military.
The U.S. has been warning Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for months to back away from the Russian deal while the F-35 trade was pending, but action didn’t come until Monday, when the U.S. announced that it would suspend deliveries of parts and manuals that Turkey needs to for its F-35 program.
The situation has produced a standoff between the two long-time NATO allies. Turkey has so far refused to pull out of the Russian arms deal, while the U.S. is warning that Turkey can’t have it both ways. Vice President Mike Pence warned this week that Turkey “must choose” between NATO and Russia.
But Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the S-400 trade is a “done deal.” The United States tried to dissuade Turkey from the deal by offering an American-made anti-aircraft system — the Patriot system — at a discounted price, but Cavusoglu said that the U.S. took too long to make that trade, leaving Turkey with no choice.
“We couldn’t get it for 10 years,” Cavusoglu said at the Atlantic Council on Wednesday morning. “That’s why we had to buy from Russia. And we tried to buy from other allies as well. It didn’t work. So it is an urgent need of Turkey. I mean, we need air defense systems urgently in Turkey.”
The U.S. gave Turkey a March deadline for the Patriot discount deal, which it said could not go forward without Turkey’s commitment to drop plans to buy the S-400. Erdogan has shown interest in the Patriot system, but isn’t wavering on the Russian deal.
F-35s in limbo at AZ base
Meanwhile, Turkish pilots are continuing to train at Luke Air Force Base, outside Phoenix. Two F-35s that were symbolically given to Turkey last year are still at the base, but it’s unclear if Turkey will ever get them.
Despite the tensions, one more jet arrived on Wednesday, and another is expected this month, leaving some optimistic that the standoff will resolve itself.
“I expect we’ll solve the problem so they have the right defense equipment in terms of Patriots and F-35s,” acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said.
The two F-35s are scheduled to go to Turkey in November, while Turkey is expecting the S-400s to arrive in July. But Cavusoglu has maintained that the S-400 deal will not threaten NATO, saying: “We made very clear that this system will not see any NATO system, including F-35s, as an enemy.”
Turkey drifting from NATO?
The missile spat is just the latest rift between the United States, with its NATO allies, and Turkey, a strategic ally for U.S. and NATO operations in the Middle East. Indeed, the Russian arms deal is being seen as just the latest overture of friendship toward Turkey by Vladimir Putin in an effort to wrest the country away from NATO.
Meanwhile, U.S.-Turkey relations have been further strained by American support for the Kurds, an enemy of Turkey, as well as a diplomatic conflict over Turkey’s detention of an American pastor, which prompted the countries to trade sanctions.
Turkey’s status in NATO is not the only question lingering about the Cold War-era alliance, which critics including President Trump have attacked for placing an excessive burden on the United States for its defense spending. Others have questioned whether NATO, which was formed to combat the long-dead Soviet Union, can meet new threats — namely, China.
Pence and State Secretary Mike Pompeo criticized Germany this week for making excuses on its failure to pay more into the alliance’s defense budget.
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