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The U.S. government could reportedly reexamine Turkey’s participation in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program if that country goes ahead with its purchase of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems from Russia. But even if that particular issue is resolved, there could still be major hurdles in unfreezing deliveries of the jets to the Turkish Air Force.
The potential for a change in Turkey's status as a central partner in the Joint Strike Fighter project was among the core statements in a two-page unclassified summary of a report the Pentagon had submitted to Congress regarding the issue on Nov. 15, 2018, which Bloomberg obtained. As part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2019 Fiscal Year, members of Congress included a demand for Secretary of Defense James Mattis to submit a report by the end of 2018 detailing, among other things, the risks associated with Turkey’s planned purchase of the S-400s and the impact on the F-35 program if Turkey was to stop being a participant. It is not immediately clear if this summary had come attached to the report or if Congressional staff had produced it afterward.
“The Turkish government has repeatedly and publicly stated that it has concluded an agreement to procure the S-400,” the summary says, according to Bloomberg. “The [Trump] administration will reassess Turkey’s continued participation as one of the eight partner nations should they continue their purchase of the S-400.”
Congress had frozen the transfer of any of any F-35s to the Turkish Air Force until it had at least received this assessment. There is no requirement that they following the Pentagon's recommendations, though. It is also a significant shift in tone from Mattis, who had previously argued stridently against Congress' moves to cut Turkey out of the F-35 program.
The U.S. government’s top concern, which a number of other NATO members share, is that Turkish military’s simultaneous operation of the S-400 and the F-35 could expose sensitive details about the latter’s performance against a major potential threat. Turkey has pledged to purchase up to 100 of the stealthy fighter jets. At the same time, Turkey is a major partner in the Joint Strike Fighter program, with Turkish companies building components for all three variants of the stealth fighter, including those in U.S. service.
In some cases, those firms are the sole supplier. Turkey has invested more than $1.25 billion in the project and has expected to reap a much larger windfall during the aircraft’s worldwide service life as a producer of parts for new jets and replacement components. The United States could potentially seek to censure Turkey without withholding the F-35s entirely by simply scaling back the country's involvement in the supply chain. But these disruptions could be costly for the program, which has spent considerable effort in recent years in trying to rein in the unit price of the individual jets and drive down sustain expenses.
F-35 components that are produced by Turkey. Good graphic but sadly in Turkish. Says Turkish firms produced around $700 million worth of material and services so far Source; Turkish Undersecretariat for Defense Industry
But the United States’ opposition to Turkey’s S-400 buy has been building since the Turkish government first formally announced the purchases more than a year ago. In 2015, the U.S. government succeeded in pressuring Turkey to abandon a previous plan to procure Chinese surface-to-air missile systems over similar concerns.
Turkey has rejected past offers to buy the Patriot surface-to-air missile system in the past, citing cost and an unwillingness on the part of defense contractor Raytheon to provide industrial cooperation opportunities for Turkish companies. Unless something changes, the Turkish Military expects to get the first S-400s in 2019. But earlier in November 2018, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu indicated his country was still interested in potentially purchasing American air defense systems.
The current deal is a done deal – I cannot cancel it,” Cavusoglu said. “But I need more. I prefer to buy from my allies.”
The tough talk in the summary is at odds with a statement from the office of Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, that came out after the Pentagon delivered the full, classified report to Congress on Nov. 15, 2018. Tillis, along with New Hampshire Democrat Senator Jean Shaheen, had been the primary sponsors of the NDAA provision blocking the delivery of F-35s to Turkey over the S-400s and other issues.
“It appears that DoD has determined that Turkey has met its obligations to purchase F-35s pursuant to the provision in the NDAA,” the statement from Tillis' office read. “The release of Pastor [Andrew] Brunson was a positive step that opens up the opportunity for improved relations between the US and Turkey. There are still some outstanding issues that must be addressed moving forward, including Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 from Russia and Turkey’s detention of other American citizens.”
Contact the author: jtrevithickpr@gmail.com
http://va.newsrepublic.net/a/6629083017 ... 7128182278
The potential for a change in Turkey's status as a central partner in the Joint Strike Fighter project was among the core statements in a two-page unclassified summary of a report the Pentagon had submitted to Congress regarding the issue on Nov. 15, 2018, which Bloomberg obtained. As part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 2019 Fiscal Year, members of Congress included a demand for Secretary of Defense James Mattis to submit a report by the end of 2018 detailing, among other things, the risks associated with Turkey’s planned purchase of the S-400s and the impact on the F-35 program if Turkey was to stop being a participant. It is not immediately clear if this summary had come attached to the report or if Congressional staff had produced it afterward.
“The Turkish government has repeatedly and publicly stated that it has concluded an agreement to procure the S-400,” the summary says, according to Bloomberg. “The [Trump] administration will reassess Turkey’s continued participation as one of the eight partner nations should they continue their purchase of the S-400.”
Congress had frozen the transfer of any of any F-35s to the Turkish Air Force until it had at least received this assessment. There is no requirement that they following the Pentagon's recommendations, though. It is also a significant shift in tone from Mattis, who had previously argued stridently against Congress' moves to cut Turkey out of the F-35 program.
The U.S. government’s top concern, which a number of other NATO members share, is that Turkish military’s simultaneous operation of the S-400 and the F-35 could expose sensitive details about the latter’s performance against a major potential threat. Turkey has pledged to purchase up to 100 of the stealthy fighter jets. At the same time, Turkey is a major partner in the Joint Strike Fighter program, with Turkish companies building components for all three variants of the stealth fighter, including those in U.S. service.
In some cases, those firms are the sole supplier. Turkey has invested more than $1.25 billion in the project and has expected to reap a much larger windfall during the aircraft’s worldwide service life as a producer of parts for new jets and replacement components. The United States could potentially seek to censure Turkey without withholding the F-35s entirely by simply scaling back the country's involvement in the supply chain. But these disruptions could be costly for the program, which has spent considerable effort in recent years in trying to rein in the unit price of the individual jets and drive down sustain expenses.
F-35 components that are produced by Turkey. Good graphic but sadly in Turkish. Says Turkish firms produced around $700 million worth of material and services so far Source; Turkish Undersecretariat for Defense Industry
But the United States’ opposition to Turkey’s S-400 buy has been building since the Turkish government first formally announced the purchases more than a year ago. In 2015, the U.S. government succeeded in pressuring Turkey to abandon a previous plan to procure Chinese surface-to-air missile systems over similar concerns.
Turkey has rejected past offers to buy the Patriot surface-to-air missile system in the past, citing cost and an unwillingness on the part of defense contractor Raytheon to provide industrial cooperation opportunities for Turkish companies. Unless something changes, the Turkish Military expects to get the first S-400s in 2019. But earlier in November 2018, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu indicated his country was still interested in potentially purchasing American air defense systems.
The current deal is a done deal – I cannot cancel it,” Cavusoglu said. “But I need more. I prefer to buy from my allies.”
The tough talk in the summary is at odds with a statement from the office of Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, that came out after the Pentagon delivered the full, classified report to Congress on Nov. 15, 2018. Tillis, along with New Hampshire Democrat Senator Jean Shaheen, had been the primary sponsors of the NDAA provision blocking the delivery of F-35s to Turkey over the S-400s and other issues.
“It appears that DoD has determined that Turkey has met its obligations to purchase F-35s pursuant to the provision in the NDAA,” the statement from Tillis' office read. “The release of Pastor [Andrew] Brunson was a positive step that opens up the opportunity for improved relations between the US and Turkey. There are still some outstanding issues that must be addressed moving forward, including Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 from Russia and Turkey’s detention of other American citizens.”
Contact the author: jtrevithickpr@gmail.com
http://va.newsrepublic.net/a/6629083017 ... 7128182278
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