{"id":58745,"date":"2020-07-07T18:21:54","date_gmt":"2020-07-07T18:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/07\/07\/stop-buying-turkeys-f-35-parts-already-lawmakers-tell-dod\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:25:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:25:05","slug":"stop-buying-turkeys-f-35-parts-already-lawmakers-tell-dod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/07\/07\/stop-buying-turkeys-f-35-parts-already-lawmakers-tell-dod\/","title":{"rendered":"Stop buying Turkey\u2019s F-35 parts, lawmakers tell DoD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging the Pentagon to more quickly stop buying F-35 fighter jet components from Turkey<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla.; Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., complained in a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper on July 6 that the Pentagon\u2019s plans to buy parts from Turkey into 2022 undercuts U.S. pressure on the country over its purchase of the Russian S-400 Triumf air defense system<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. formally removed<\/a> Turkey from the multinational program in 2019 over the S-400 deal, and it ended training on the jet for Turkish pilots. Furthermore, the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act barred the transfer of F-35 aircraft to Turkey. The U.S. has warned that Turkey\u2019s use of the S-400 could compromise the stealthy F-35.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord told reporters<\/a> in January that it would allow prime contractor Lockheed Martin and engine-maker Pratt & Whitney to honor existing contractual obligations with Turkish manufacturers for F-35 components. That means Lockheed would receive Turkish parts through the end of Lot 14, with those planes set to be delivered to customers in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\t