Turkish F-35A delivered –
despite opposition
Above: The second F-35A for the THK, 18-002 (AT-02), made
its maiden fl ight at Fort Worth on June 8. Carl RichardsAbove: The second F-35A for the THK, 18-002 (AT-02), made
its maiden fl ight at Fort Worth on June 8. Carl RichardsTHE US has formally
handed over Turkey’s
first F-35A, despite
mounting opposition from
lawmakers in Washington.
Lockheed Martin held a
ceremony in Fort Worth,
Texas, on June 21 to mark
delivery of the initial F-35A
(18-001, AT-01) to Turkey.
However, the same day
Maryland Senator Chris Van
Hollen secured a bill seeking
to block future Lightning
II transfers to Turkey in
response to Ankara’s
purchase of S-400 surface-
to-air missiles from Russia.
As part of the fiscal
year 2019 State, Foreign
Operations, and Related
Programs Appropriations
Act, Senator Van Hollen’s
bill prohibits allocating
funds from FY 2019 and
prior years to support the
transfer of Turkish F-35s.
The barriers would be
removed if the secretary of
state can certify that Turkey
won’t buy the S-400.
Senator Van Hollen said:
“Turkey’s acquisition of
both systems would allow
the Russians to more easily
evaluate the capabilities of
the F-35 and detect and
exploit its vulnerabilities.
That is unacceptable.” Air
Force Secretary HeatherWilson added: “We would
not want to have that
aircraft close to the S-400.”
The bill will now
be considered by
the US Senate.
An earlier bill, passed by
the Senate on June 18,
restricted funding on the
transfer of Turkish F-35s
based on three provisions:
the defence secretary
looking into removing Turkey
from the F-35 programme;
imposing sanctions if Turkey
acquires S-400s; and a
briefing from the Pentagon
on the effect of removing
Turkish industry from the
F-35 supply chain. A daylater, Turkish Prime Minister
Binali Yıldırım criticised the
Senate amendments and
warned that his country
has “alternatives” if the
F-35 sales are blocked.
The Turkish Foreign
Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu,
speaking to Turkish media,
said US President Donald
Trump had promised
Ankara he would protect
procurement of the
Lightning II. Turkey plans
to acquire 100 F-35s,
making it the third largest
customer, and was a
Level 3 participant in the
System Development and
Demonstration (SDD) phase,contributing $175m to this
effort. At least ten Turkish
companies are involved
in production of the F-
and its F135 engine.
The premier F-35A for
the Türk Hava Kuvvetleri
(THK, Turkish Air Force)
will be delivered to Luke
Air Force Base, Arizona,
to train Turkish pilots
and maintainers. THK
plans called for the first
four F-35As to remain at
Luke while the fifth and
sixth would be delivered
to the 7nci Ana Jet Üs
Komutanliği (7th Main
Jet Base Command)
at Malatya in 2020.6 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
NEWS
// AUGUST 2018 #Headlines
BELL BOEING has won a
$4.1bn order that includes
production of the CMV-22B
carrier on-board delivery
(COD) aircraft for the
US Navy. The contract
will provide a total of 58
tiltrotors for the US Navy,
US Marine Corps, US Air
Force, and for Japan.
The award, announced
by the US Department
of Defense on June 29,
modifies a previous advance
acquisition contract. It
includes manufacture and
delivery of 39 CMV-22Bs
for the US Navy (the full
programme of record), 14
MV-22Bs for the USMC, one
CV-22B for the USAF and
four MV-22Bs for Japan. The
multiyear contract will keep
the Osprey in production
until at least 2024.
The US Navy will use its
new CMV-22Bs to transport
personnel and cargo from
shore to aircraft carriers,
eventually replacing
the C-2 Greyhound.An artist’s concept of
CMV-22Bs in fl ight.
Bell BoeingUS Navy CMV-22B under contract