Intel: US boots Turkey from F-35 program after Russian arms deal
The Donald Trump administration said today it would formally kick Turkey out of the F-35 program after Ankara took delivery of a Russian air defense system that could threaten the American fighter’s stealth capabilities.
![GERMANY-AIRSHOW/ A Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft is seen at the ILA Air Show in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt - RC1286FBA9D0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2019/07/RTX5XTQ8.jpg/RTX5XTQ8.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=w4PtJPTZ)
The Donald Trump administration said today it would formally kick Turkey out of the F-35 program after Ankara took delivery of a Russian air defense system that could threaten the American fighter’s stealth capabilities.
In a White House statement sent five days after Turkey began taking deliveries of the Moscow-made S-400, press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the F-35 “cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities.”