Turkey to receive F-35 fighters despite objection from senators

ANKARA — Turkey is set to receive its first F-35 aircraft, the world’s most advanced fighter jet, despite an initiative launched by United States senators to block the delivery amid faltering relations between the countries.

Defense sources close to the project said that the first F-35 will be delivered to the Turkish Air Force on June 21 in the US, where a ceremony will take place.

“This plane will be deployed at Eglin air base in Florida for a year, where Turkish pilots will get training,” said Ozgur Eksi, a senior analyst with the Istanbulbased C4 defense magazine.

Further batches are expected to be delivered gradually until 2022.

The F-35 is being developed and built by US defense contractor Lockheed Martin for the US, Britain, Australia, Italy, Norway, Turkey, the Netherlands, Denmark and Canada in a project worth about $400 billion, making it the world’s most expensive weapons program.

A total of 3,000 F-35 jets are to go into service around the world in coming years.

Two Turkish Air Force pilots will receive special training in the US, Anadolu Agency reported citing defense sources.

After the training is completed and another warplane is delivered, the F-35s are scheduled to be brought to Turkey in September 2019. The trained pilots will fly the two jets accompanied by a refueling plane.

However, a number of US congressmen have urged the White House to suspend the procurement because of Turkey’s decision to buy Russian S-400 advanced air defense systems.

“If they take such a step at a moment when we are trying to mend our bilateral ties, they will definitely get a response from Turkey,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told private broadcaster CNN Turk in an interview last week.

The dispute further strains ties between the allies, which have soured dramatically over rival stances on the war in Syria and Washington’s refusal to extradite cleric Fethullah Gulen to Turkey over his alleged role of masterminding the failed coup in 2016.

Experts believe that blocking delivery of the F-35s will eventually cause the collapse of the whole project because important parts of the aircraft such as the central fuselage are manufactured in Turkey.

“The US will shoot itself in the foot, it would definitely harm the entire project,” said Ozgur Eksi.

Observers have argued that if the US administration imposes military sanctions on Turkey, it would enhance the country’s already extensive cooperation with Russia and push Ankara toward Moscow’s sphere of influence.