Intel: Senators berate Pentagon failure to sever F-35 cooperation with Turkey
The Pentagon is still allowing Turkey to produce components for US F-35 fighter jets, violating a defense law that President Donald Trump signed in December.
The Pentagon is still allowing Turkey to produce components for US F-35 fighter jets, violating a defense law that President Donald Trump signed in December.
“Unfortunately, Turkish manufacturers are still producing and delivering key components of the aircraft despite the statutory prohibition on such participation in manufacturing line of the program,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., and three other senators wrote in a bipartisan letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper. “We believe more urgency is needed and hope you will accelerate the process to ensure a more prompt removal.”
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., also signed onto the letter.
Why it matters: The United States officially kicked Turkey out of the F-35 co-production program last year over Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system. Congress included a provision to defund the transfer of F-35s to Turkey and the transfer of Turkish components to the United States as part of last year’s defense bill. The Pentagon initially said it would wind down Turkish participation in the F-35 supply chain “in early 2020,” only to extend that deadline through 2022.
