Pilots from Turkey Training on F-35 Return to Turkey
* Photograph: Foreign Policy
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After the US announced that Turkey's partnership in the F-35 fighter jet program was suspended on July 17, the pilots and military personnel receiving training of F-35s will return to Turkey as of today (August 1).
The announcement of the US came shortly after the first parts of Russia's S-400 air defense missile system started to arrive in Turkey.
43 personnel, six of whom were pilots, were receiving training on the fighter jet in the Luke and Eglin Air Force Bases in Arizona.
If the partnership of Turkey had not been suspended by the US, it was expected that 333 personnel, including 13 pilots, would be trained on F-35 fighter jets by the end of 2020.
CLICK - Turkey Begins to Receive S400s: Here are the Five Things You Need to Know About It
Why does the US react against Turkey's purchase of S-400s?Ranking second after Russia in arms export in the world, the US has various reasons to react against Turkey's deal with Russia. One of these reasons is US reservations over the possibility that Russia will be a monopoly in global arms export. Moreover, speaking to defence.com website about the issue, defense experts have been warning that if Russia's S-400 air defense missile system and US's F-35 fighter jets are used together, Russia can learn about the weaknesses of the fighter jets. That being the case, since Turkey's possibility of purchasing S-400s from Russia came up, the US has been referring to "sanctions". Alexander Meşheyev, the Chair of the Rosoboronexport, the state organization in Russia for exporting military products, announced it on August 21, 2018 that the deal with Turkey foreseeing the delivery of S-400s will come into force in 2019. Making harsher and harcher statements since then, the US sent a warning of sanctions to Minister of National Defense on June 6. To most people in Turkey, the US warning was reminiscent of the "Johnson's letter." Lastly, speaking to the US daily Washington Post, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, "The law requires that there be sanctions and I'm confident that we will comply with the law and President Trump will comply with the law." |
(PT/SD)
