Three senators are aiming to block F-35 joint strike fighter jet sales to Turkey as part of the annual defense policy bill now poised for a vote in the Senate.
An amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act filed by Sens. Thom Tillis, Jeanne Shaheen, and James Lankford would take a harder approach toward Ankara than current House and Senate language, which require Pentagon reports that could delay sales.
The senators are proposing a prohibition on sales of the high-tech fighters and associated hardware unless President Trump certifies that Turkey is not threatening NATO, buying defense equipment from Russia, or detaining U.S. citizens.
The Senate’s NDAA bill and amendments are set to be voted on in the coming days. The legislation requires the Pentagon to submit a plan to Congress to remove Turkey from participation in the F-35 program.
The House-passed a version of the NDAA last month would delay the F-35 sales for three months while the Pentagon completes a report on the U.S. relationship with Turkey.
Turkey wants to buy 100 of the aircraft, which are made by Lockheed Martin, and plans to also participate in production and sustainment of the aircraft and its engines.
U.S. lawmakers have slammed the NATO ally and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for seeking to buy the S-400 Triumf air defense system from Russia despite sanctions on such sales.
Turkey has also increased tensions due to its 2016 detention of pastor Andrew Brunson on charges of colluding with terrorist groups.
A group of 66 senators including Tillis, Shaheen and Lankford wrote a letter to Erdogan in April calling the charges against the pastor an “absurd collection of anonymous accusations, flights of fantasy, and random character assassination.”
It is uncertain whether the proposed amendment will receive a vote on the Senate floor. It is among dozens filed and the chamber is now hashing out an agreement that could allow votes on just a fraction of them.
