Hot period before the F-35
According to statements, the start of deliveries of the S-400 system to Turkey provoked a reaction from the Americans to the termination of cooperation with Ankara on the F-35 Lightning II program. Photo by Clinton White.
On July 16, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would end military and economic cooperation with Turkey as part of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II multirole combat aircraft program. This statement is the result of the start of deliveries of S-400 air defense systems, which were purchased in Russia and, despite pressure from Washington, Ankara did not withdraw from the above deal. This decision will have many implications for this program, which can also be felt on the Vistula River.
The US president's statement is a direct consequence of the events of July 12, when Russian transport aircraft arrived at the Murted air base near the Turkish capital, delivering the first elements of the S-400 system (for more details, see WiT 8/2019). ). Many commentators have pointed out that such a long period between events could be the result of disagreements within the US federal administration over the options to "punish" the Turks available through the CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) signed into law in August 2017. In addition to the F-35 embargo, the Americans may also limit support related to other types of weapons used by the Turkish Armed Forces or currently being supplied (for example, fearing this, Turkey has increased purchases of spare parts for the F-16C / D in recent weeks, and on the other hand, Boeing and the Department of Defense provided complete CH-47F Chinook helicopters). This can also be seen in the statements of Potomac politicians, in which instead of the words "embargo" or "exclusion" only "suspension" is heard. As previously stated, Turkish personnel associated with the F-35 program managed to leave the United States by the end of July. Of course, no American can guarantee that the secrets of the program held by Turkey will not, in return, be revealed to the Russians or the Chinese. The four F-35As already assembled and delivered to the user are located at the Luke base in Arizona, where they will remain and wait for their fate. According to the original plans, the first of them were supposed to arrive at the Malatya base in November of this year.
To date, Lockheed Martin has assembled and sent four F-35As to Turkey, which were sent to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, where they were used to train Turkish personnel. According to plans, the first F-35As were to arrive in Turkey in November of this year, in total Ankara announced its readiness to purchase up to 100 copies, this number could also include the F-35B version. Photo by Clinton White.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that the Turks have had problems buying US combat aircraft. In the 80s, Ankara had to convince Washington that the "secrets" of the F-16C / D would not penetrate the Soviet Union and its allies. Fearing a leak of information, the Americans did not agree to the export of cars to Turkey and Greece - in line with the policy of maintaining a balance between the two warring NATO allies. The United States has long pursued a policy of selling the same types of weapons to both countries.
Turkey's participation in the F-35 Lightning II program dates back to the beginning of this century, when Ankara became the project's seventh international partner in the Tier 195 group. Turkey has invested US$2007 million in the program. In January 116, its authorities initially announced their intention to purchase 35 vehicles in the F-100A variant, later they were limited to 35. Taking into account the growing military potential of the Turkish Armed Forces, it could not be ruled out that the order would be divided between the F-35A and F versions. -2021B. The latter are intended for the Anadolu landing helicopter, which is due to enter service in 10. To date, Ankara has ordered six F-11As in two initial batches (35th and XNUMXth).
Also in 2007, industrial cooperation was established with American enterprises to locate the production of F-35 components in Turkey. The program currently includes, among others, Turkish Aerospace Industries, Kale Pratt & Whitney, Kale Aerospace, Alp Aviation and Ayesaş, which provide more than 900 structural elements for each F-35. Their list includes: the central part of the fuselage (both metal and composite parts), the inner cover of the air intakes, pylons for air-to-ground weapons, elements of the F135 engine, landing gear, braking system, elements of the data display system in the cockpit or control system units weapons. At the same time, about half of them are produced exclusively in Turkey. From here, the Department of Defense ordered Lockheed Martin to urgently find alternative suppliers in the United States, which could cost the defense budget about $600 million. Completion of the production of components for the F-35 in Turkey is scheduled for March 2020. According to the Pentagon, the change of suppliers should minimally affect the entire program, at least officially. One of the F135 engine service centers was also to be built in Turkey. According to the statement of the Ministry of Defense, negotiations are already underway with one of the European countries in order to transfer it. In 2020-2021, it is planned to launch two centers of this type in the Netherlands and Norway. In addition, as part of the development of the Block 4 version, Turkish companies were supposed to participate in the program for integrating aircraft with types of weapons produced in Turkey.
Almost immediately after the decision of the American president, many comments appeared in Poland, suggesting that the places reserved for Turkish cars on the final assembly line in Fort Worth could be taken by the Department of National Defense, announcing the purchase of at least 32 F-35As for the Air Force. It seems that the key issue is time, since the Netherlands also announces an order for another eight or nine copies, and the second tranche is also planned by Japan (for financial reasons, the aircraft should come from the Fort Worth line) or the Republic of Korea.
Now the question remains what Turkey's response will be. One of the options could be the purchase of the Su-57, as well as the participation of Russian companies in the program for the construction of the 5th generation TAI TF-X aircraft.
