Intel: Senators berate Pentagon failure to sever F-35 cooperation with Turkey
The Pentagon is still allowing Turkey to produce components for US F-35 fighter jets, violating a defense law that President Donald Trump signed in December.
![1181924688 Israeli F-35 fighter jets roll on the tarmac during the "Blue Flag" multinational aerial exercise at the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on November 11, 2019. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2020/07/GettyImages-1181924688.jpg/GettyImages-1181924688.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=WKe5N8y_)
The Pentagon is still allowing Turkey to produce components for US F-35 fighter jets, violating a defense law that President Donald Trump signed in December.
“Unfortunately, Turkish manufacturers are still producing and delivering key components of the aircraft despite the statutory prohibition on such participation in manufacturing line of the program,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., and three other senators wrote in a bipartisan letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper. “We believe more urgency is needed and hope you will accelerate the process to ensure a more prompt removal.”