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Turkey already bought F-35s[1], but are being told both that they can't buy anymore, and the servicing of the engines will be moved out of Turkey by 2020 if the

by avar 7y ago

Turkey already bought F-35s[1], but are being told both that they can't buy anymore, and the servicing of the engines will be moved out of Turkey by 2020 if they insist on buying the S-400 from Russia[2][3]. Also, even if they didn't sell the F-35 to Turkey but still serviced the engines there that would make logical sense. The reason the US is paranoid about the S-400 is because they think radar data about the F-35 and other NATO aircraft will be fed back to Russia[4]. That concern obviously doesn't apply to a stand-alone F-35 engine sitting on the ground. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_F-35_Lightning_II#Operators https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_F-35_Lightning... 2. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/06/07/turkish-suppliers-to-be-eliminated-from-f-35-program-in-2020/ https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/06/07/turkish-suppliers... 3. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/07/16/trump-turkey-will-be-out-f-35-fighter-jet-program-after-s-400-buy.html https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/07/16/trump-turkey-... 4. https://news.usni.org/2019/07/15/f-35-program-leadership-changes-as-turkeys-future-in-program-uncertain https://news.usni.org/2019/07/15/f-35-program-leadership-cha...

willvarfar 7y ago
From my reading, I don't think any of the F35s had been delivered, but some Turkish pilots had started training in the US in '18. That is now stopped. Over 900 parts in the F35 were made by Turkish companies, and they have to now be re-sourced. Now, I don't think the F35 operators want F35 engines sitting around in a country now receiving Russian military advisers. The idea that the engine isn't classified is crazy.
- blackflame7000 7y ago
  Russia has similar engines at their disposal as in the F35. The F22 engines however are extremely classified because of their ability to supercruise without afterburners. The parts we keep secret are the stealth coatings which we do domestically and the sensor fusion which is mostly software based
- avar 7y ago
  I believe Turkey owns those F-35s operating in the US, they're used for training. On that Wikipedia page you can see there's dozens of F-35s in the US owned by foreign air forces. Can they just fly them out of the US at this point? No idea, but it's interesting to see what'll happen with that. Just because Russia has S-400 advisors in Turkey doesn't mean they get to walk around wherever they want, including wherever the F-35's engines are serviced. The concern was specifically that they'd have access to detailed radar data on the F-35, which they'd have access to in their roles as advisors for the S-400 missile system.

by avar 7y ago

willvarfar 7y ago

From my reading, I don't think any of the F35s had been delivered, but some Turkish pilots had started training in the US in '18. That is now stopped. Over 900 parts in the F35 were made by Turkish companies, and they have to now be re-sourced. Now, I don't think the F35 operators want F35 engines sitting around in a country now receiving Russian military advisers. The idea that the engine isn't classified is crazy.

blackflame7000 7y ago
Russia has similar engines at their disposal as in the F35. The F22 engines however are extremely classified because of their ability to supercruise without afterburners. The parts we keep secret are the stealth coatings which we do domestically and the sensor fusion which is mostly software based
avar 7y ago
I believe Turkey owns those F-35s operating in the US, they're used for training. On that Wikipedia page you can see there's dozens of F-35s in the US owned by foreign air forces. Can they just fly them out of the US at this point? No idea, but it's interesting to see what'll happen with that. Just because Russia has S-400 advisors in Turkey doesn't mean they get to walk around wherever they want, including wherever the F-35's engines are serviced. The concern was specifically that they'd have access to detailed radar data on the F-35, which they'd have access to in their roles as advisors for the S-400 missile system.