United States President Joe Biden will continue his predecessor’s policy of excluding Turkey from the international program of the next-generation F-35 fighter jet. Joint Strike Fighterthe new Pentagon spokesman, Rear Admiral (Retired) John Kirby, said on February 5.
The Pentagon expelled Turkey, a NATO ally, from the F-35 coalition because it bought the S-400 air defense system from Russia, an acquisition that the United States says puts US military information at risk. The United States concluded that the 5th generation fighter, which its main allies also use, could not be operated by a country equipped with a Russian surface-to-air missile system, whose main function is to shoot down the Lockheed Martin F-35s. The risk that the Turks would dump the fighter plane data into the S-400 system, and that this data could reach the manufacturer, giving Russia an advantage, nullifying the superiority of an aeronautical program in which the Western countries have invested billions of dollars.
That argument holds even when the new administration takes the reins. Our position has not changedKirby said at a Pentagon press conference, adding, The S-400 is incompatible with the F-35 and Turkey has been suspended from that program.
The United States again urges Ankara not to keep the S-400, a long-range anti-aircraft system that it began receiving in 2019. Instead, Turkey should invest in the air defense missile system. Patriot, of American manufacture, advertisement. Turkey has had multiple opportunities in the last decade to buy America’s Patriot defense system and instead chose to buy the S-400, which provides Russia with revenue, access and influence., go to Kirby.
In this sense, in 2018, Turkey received the go-ahead from Washington to acquire the Raytheon MIM-104 system. Patriot. Although, all is said, the defense capacity of the Patriot It has been granted to Ankara by the Government of Spain, since 2015, in what in principle was a NATO solidarity mission, from which most of the leaders withdrew before the Islamist turn, invasion of Syria and the rapprochement towards Russia. Partners of the Alliance.
Returning to the United States, your air force or USAF (United States Air Force) bought the eight F-35As initially built for Turkey that were never delivered, under a $ 861.7 million contract. The country had already placed the order when it was expelled, and it is being phased out of the supply chain for parts of the F-35, a process that will still last two years, so as not to affect the production chain of the fighter, in Fort Worth ( Texas).
In December, the United States sanctioned Turkey for its adoption of the S-400 in accordance with federal law, although the Trump administration refrained from doing so for more than a year. The North American National Defense Authorization Law for 2021 also ordered the government to impose at least five sanctions on Turkey, as required by the Law to counter the United States Adversaries through Sanctions or CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) of 2017, within 30 days of its promulgation on January 1.
President Biden could end those sanctions by certifying to Congress that Turkey and anyone acting on its behalf no longer owns the S-400 or newer version, that Russian citizens or their contractors are operating or maintaining defense systems. area in Turkey, and that the United States has received reliable assurances from Ankara that it will no longer violate CAATSA.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said last year that it wanted the United States to handle the dispute. through dialogue and diplomacy, and not of sanctions. (Julio Maz Sanz)
Photo: First flight of a Turkish F-35 in 2018, although they were delivered to the customer, they never left the United States. (foto Lockheed Martin)
–
Copyright © Grupo Edefa SA Total or partial reproduction of this article is prohibited without permission and prior authorization from the publishing company.
