https://www.facebook.com/defensionemwarbible/posts/574958289681492F-35 delivery suspended: The Washington-Ankara saga continues.
A US DoD statement reads: "Pending an unequivocal Turkish decision to forgo delivery of the S-400, deliveries and activities associated with the stand-up of Turkey's F-35 operational capability have been suspended while our dialogue on this important matter continues with Turkey,"
As a reminder, it is important to note that Turkish pilots are currently being trained on the F-35 platform in the US.
Furthermore, Turkey has been deeply involved in the F-35 program since 2004: its industry produces many important parts for the F-35 jets, from wiring looms to sensors, airframe and engine parts and so on. Turkey was even allowed to manufacture the F-35 engines under license. Finally, Turkey was selected to host the first European Regional Engine overhaul and maintenance depot!
Needless to say, this suspension will not only impact Turkey's own defence industry hard, but will also create problems for the whole F-35 supply and manufacture chain and create more delays for the whole project. This will impact all F-35 operators globally. Don't forget that Turkey is the sole supplier for the F-35's missile remote interface unit and panoramic cockpit display.
So what led us here ?
First of all is the failed anti-Erdogan coup of 2016. Turkey is convinced the US administration was behind it. Turkey also resents Washington refusal to hand over Fethullah Gülen, who lives in exile in the USA. Fethullah Gülen is an ex political ally of Erdogan, but they have fallen out and Erdogan is convinced Gulen is also behind the 2016 failed coup. Finally, Ankara, above all, is furious that Washington has been supporting, financing and arming Kurdish militias in Syria. Turkey is considering those militias as terrorist organisations.
The recriminations do not only go one way, though. Washington, for its part, is angry at Ankara love affair with ISIS from 2015 to 2016. At the time, it became evident that wannabe jihadis were joining ISIS through Turkey's porous border. What transited the other way around were stolen oil and museum artifacts looted from Iraq and Syria. From 2016 onward, Ankara has seemingly shifted its support from ISIS to Al-Qaeda, also injecting into the mix pro-Ankara Turkmen militias. Ankara is the guarantor of a truce in the Syrian province of Idlib, but its end goal is to weaken the Kurdish position in the region.
Ankara's decision to purchase the Russian S-400 system seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back for Washington. What the Americans willingly ignore is that Ankara has tried several times to purchase the American Patriot system... Those requests were denied. What derailed those deals were the Turkish request to be able to assemble some of those batteries in Turkey, under license. This would have helped Turkey to develop its own AA system in the future and boost its own defence industry cappabilities. While Washington refused to access to those demand, Moscow was more than happy to oblige.
-RBM.
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https://mobile.twitter.com/BabakTaghvaee/status/1113107008465534977but also
https://mobile.twitter.com/AirForceTimes/status/1113126475245522945so it seems there's some confusion there
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this is also pretty funny
https://mobile.twitter.com/Cerberu04914651/status/1113158569841623040and
https://mobile.twitter.com/thezambologist/status/1113172551465828353++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
interesting Twitter thread here
https://twitter.com/AaronMehta/status/1113434050000314368
« Last Edit: April 03, 2019, 09:57:37 AM by bayonetbrant »
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