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Why was Turkey removed from the F-35 programme?
Summary
A look back at the US decision, taken after Ankara received Russian S-400 missile systems.
What happened when a NATO ally took delivery of Russian air defence equipment? By 18 July 2019, the answer was already in view: the United States had removed Turkey from the Joint Strike Fighter programme the previous day, on 17 July.
The decision followed Turkey's acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile system. Ankara had planned to buy 100 F-35 Lightning II jets, and that purchase was now off the table.
The delivery that preceded it
On 12 July 2019, Turkey received its first shipment of the S-400 system from Russia. It did so despite calls from the United States and NATO to cancel the deal.
The sequence was short: delivery on 12 July, then removal from the fighter programme five days later. The episode set two NATO partners against each other over a Russian weapons system, and it drew the alliance's attention to the relationship between Ankara and Moscow.
