The United States on Friday raised the stakes in its standoff with Turkey over A...
WASHINGTON/ISTANBUL - The United States on Friday raised the stakes in its standoff with Turkey over Ankara’s deal to acquire a Russian air defense system, laying out a plan to remove the NATO ally from the F-35 fighter jet program that includes immediately halting any new training for Turkish pilots on the advanced aircraft.
Reuters on Thursday first reported the decision to stop accepting more Turkish pilots for training in the United States, in one of the most concrete signs that the dispute between Washington and Ankara is reaching a breaking point. “This training will not occur because we are suspending Turkey from the F-35 program; there are no longer requirements to gain proficiencies on the systems,” according to an attachment to the letter that is titled, “Unwinding Turkey’s Participation in the F-35 Program.”
Turkish companies produce some 937 parts of the F-35, largely for the aircraft’s landing gear and center fuselage, the Pentagon says. The United States is now planning to move that production elsewhere, ending Turkey’s manufacturing role by early next year. Strains in ties between the United States and Ankara already extend beyond the F-35 to include conflicting strategy in Syria, Iran sanctions and the detention of U.S. consular staff in Turkey.
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