As NATO members work to figure out what Turkey will accept in exchange for allowing Sweden and Finland to join the alliance, an emerging question is whether Turkey would be allowed back into the F-35 program as part of the negotiations.
The answer, as far as the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is concerned, is pretty clear: “Turkey’s not coming back into the F-35 program,” Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., told reporters this morning at an event hosted by the Defense Writers’ Group.
Turkey was an early partner in the F-35 program, and helped fund the development of the jet. The plan was for them to purchase 100 of the F-35A models, which have been bought by a number of NATO countries. However, a decision by Ankara to purchase the Russian S-400 air defense system set off alarm bells, with the US and others raising concerns that the Russian system would be used to gather information about the F-35 for Moscow.
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After several years of negotiating, Turkey in July 2019 accepted the S-400 onto its soil, and the Trump administration responded by kicking Turkey from the F-35 program, costing Ankara both its fleet of stealth fighters and the industrial base benefits of being in the program.
Fast forward to May, when Sweden and Finland, after years of balancing between Russia and NATO, announce they will seek alliance membership. While a number of nations, including the US, appear prepared to fast-track their ascension, bringing them into the fold requires the support of every NATO nation – and Turkey, in a surprise move, announced it was blocking the process, largely over Sweden’s decision to withdraw arms export licenses for Ankara and what the Erdogen government calls Stockholm’s support for terrorist organizations.
Read more: Breaking Defense
