Source: FT
By Aime Williams
Donald Trump has formally expelled Turkey from the US-led F-35 fighter jet programme after Ankara took delivery of a Russian air defence system over American objections.
Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system comes despite repeated US warnings that it would allow the Kremlin to gather intelligence on one of its most advanced aircraft. Ankara also faces potential US sanctions over the purchase of the Russian system, which has exacerbated already deep rifts between the two Nato allies.
A White House spokesperson said it would now be “impossible” for Turkey to continue to be a part of the F-35 programme, the Pentagon’s largest weapons programme in its history.
Last month, the Pentagon wrote Hulusi Akar, the Turkish defence minister, to outline US plans to remove Turkey from the manufacturing supply chain for the F-35, a single-engine stealth fighter which will replace many Nato countries’ existing F-16 fleets.
Read more at: https://www.ft.com/content/d75f8baa-a8cc-11e9-b6ee-3cdf3174eb89