WASHINGTON: US Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan warned Friday thatthe Pentagon will halt manufacturing support for the F-35 in Turkey ifAnkara buys a Russian missile defense system.
Shanahan told journalists the government remained steadfast in itsopposition to Turkey´s adoption of the S-400 anti-aircraft technology.
“If Turkey decides that the S-400 is a decision they want to go forwardwith, then we have to move work out of Turkey,” he said.
Shanahan noted that he had met with delegations from US aerospacemanufacturers Lockheed Martin and United Technologies to discuss options ifTurkey refuses to forego the S-400.
Washington has warned for months that Turkey´s adoption of Russian missiletechnology alongside US fighter jets would pose a threat to the F-35 andendanger Western defense.
As a member of NATO, Turkey is taking part in the production of the fighterjet for use by members of the treaty, and has plans to buy 100 of the jetsitself.
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A number of Turkish manufacturers are making parts and equipment for theF-35, including internally carried Stand-off Missiles, airframe assembliesand wiring, leaving the NATO program partially dependent on them.
Washington has placed a freeze on the joint manufacturing operations withTurkey, and has suggested that Turkey might be able to obtain a US missiledefense system if it forgoes the one on offer from Moscow.
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has insisted he will buy theRussian system. -APP/AFP
