GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

The Real Cost of Ejecting Turkey From the F-35 Program

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Sinan Ciddi
Board of Contributors

Aug 12, 2019 | 09:30 GMT

Lockheed Martin rolls out the first F-35 fighter jet built for Turkey during a ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 21, 2018.

The Trump administration's decision to cut off Turkey from the F-35 fighter program denies Turkey delivery of the 100 or so F-35s it planned to buy and removes Turkish contractors from the F-35's supply chain.

(ATILGAN OZDIL/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • The Trump administration has removed Turkey from the F-35 program after Ankara took delivery of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system.
  • The U.S. move presents Turkey with a fundamental question: What model of fighter plane will it procure to replace its aging fleet, currently dominated by F-16s?
  • It is not certain the United States will push ahead with sanctions against Turkey as there appears to be a rift between the U.S. Congress and President Donald Trump.
  • The growing divide between Turkey and the United States comes at a particularly bad time because of mounting tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean over drilling rights off the coast of Cyprus. It remains unclear whether Turkey will seek to work with its Western partners or track an independent course.

President Donald Trump's administration announced in mid-July that the United States was removing Turkey from its F-35 fighter program after Turkey received its first shipment of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system. The U.S. decision will prevent Turkey from taking delivery of any of the 100-plus F-35s it had planned to buy. What's more, the White House's decision also removes Turkish contractors from the F-35's production chain. Turkey was also slated to serve as a maintenance base for the Middle East, where countries that had F-35 fleets could get their planes serviced. This plan was also canceled. It's estimated the Trump administration's move will cost the United States $500 million. As for Turkey, it already has paid more than $1 billion toward its planned purchase of the F-35, money it may not get back....

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