A bipartisan group of lawmakers want to block the transfer of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 joint fighter aircraft to Turkey.
Turkey is determined to obtain a Russian anti-aircraft weapons system to accompany the F-35 aircraft, but the United States and other NATO allies who use the F-35 aircraft are worried that the S-400 missile system’s radar could learn to detect the F-35 and negatively impact its ability to fend off attacks from Russian systems.
“Make no mistake – the Kremlin is an adversary of the United States and many of our NATO allies. The prospect of Russia having access to U.S. aircraft and technology in a NATO country, Turkey, is a serious national and global security risk,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement Thursday.
The Pentagon has warned Turkey it will not receive any F-35 joint fighters if the purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defense system plays out, though Turkish President Recep Erdogan appears unwilling to reconsider.
Legislation introduced Thursday by Sens. Shaheen, D-N.H., James Lankford, R-Okla., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., would prevent Turkey from obtaining the aircraft unless it provided written certification that it would not accept delivery of the S-400 air defense system.
“Turkey is a critical ally, but until President Erdogan forgoes his perplexing efforts to acquire the S-400 air defense system, not a single F-35 aircraft should be delivered to Turkey,” Shaheen said. “This bill makes it clear that NATO’s integrity, interoperability, and security is a top foreign policy concern across all branches of the U.S. government.”
“As a member of NATO, Turkey must not undermine the security of the United States and our allies,” Van Hollen said. “Operating the Russian S-400 missile defense system alongside the F-35 aircraft would do exactly that, and we cannot allow that to happen.”
The U.S. has also warned it will cut ties with Turkish companies that are used to build parts of the aircraft if the purchase is finalized. Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan said earlier this week before the House Armed Services Committee that “we need Turkey to buy the Patriot,” a reference to the U.S. Patriot missiles the U.S. has offered to sell to Turkey in lieu of the S-400 air defense system.
But Turkey remains opposed to the proposal.
Preparations for the delivery of the aircraft, set for the fall, could be derailed if the delivery happens. Turkey hopes to purchase 100 of the F-35 variant that the U.S. Air Force employs.
“The S-400 is a computer. The F-35 is a computer. You don’t hook your computer to your adversary’s computer and that’s basically what we would be doing,” Katie Wheelbarger, acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs told Reuters in a recent interview.
Last week Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, admitted he was struggling to convince Turkey to reconsider purchasing the S-400 air defense system but strongly suggested the U.S. government would refrain from sending the F-35 jets to Turkey if negotiations were unsuccessful.
“This issue, the S-400, is a tough issue. And we’re having a hard time,” Dunford said last week. “I would just say this: Because I merely provide advice, I don’t make decisions. But I think both the executive branch of our government, the legislative branch of our government are going to have a hard time reconciling the presence of the S-400 and the most advanced fighter aircraft that we have, the F-35.”
