Politics
US Senate Blocks Sale Of F-35 Fighter Jets To Turkey
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The U.S. Senate passed a $716 billion defense policy bill on Monday with an added bipartisan clause that blocks the transfer of F-35 fighter jets, considered one of the most advance warplanes in the world, to Turkey.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 85-10 in favor of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act H.R. 5515 (NDAA) that ramps up defense spending for the military in areas such as warships, fighter jets and a pay raise for the troops.
An added clause in Monday’s bill prohibits the sale of F-35 Lightening II fighter jets made by Lockheed Martin Corporation to Turkey, a move that has the potential to cause further tensions between the U.S. and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally.
The amendment “would prevent the transfer of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Turkey until the F-35 program in Turkey is re-evaluated,” Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire said, according to a statement on her official website.
Shaheen and GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina “felt it inappropriate and dangerous to send Turkey F-35 planes at this time,” the statement continued.
The amendment, initially proposed by Shaheen and Tillis in May, would remove Turkey from the F-35 program over Turkey’s imprisonment of an American citizen and its intention to acquire Russian-made air defense systems.
Turkey and Russia signed a deal in December 2017 in which Moscow would supply Ankara with S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries, a move Pentagon officials say threatens the security and data collection of the F-35.
Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in a live interview on Tuesday that he expects to still receive the warplanes at a planned ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas, on June 21, despite the Senate’s actions, according to the Hürriyet Daily News.
The House of Representatives passed a version of the NDAA in May, and the two arms will decide on a final version of the bill in a joint conference committee.
The evolving situation comes days before Turkish elections, in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will face his toughest battle so far in his 15-year term, according to several Turkish opinion polls.
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