Washington Times:
The Defense Department’s top spokesman minced no words on Thursday, saying the Pentagon will pull the plug on sales of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Turkey if the NATO ally closes a major weapons deal with Russia.
“Turkey is a very important ally and we are working very hard with them to get beyond this issue,” acting Pentagon spokesman Charles Summers told reporters, in the wake of Ankara’s insistence that it will buy and field the Russian-made S-400 missile system. “If they get the S-400, the F-35 will not go forward,” Mr. Summers said.
The Trump administration, with bipartisan backing on Capitol Hill, has strongly opposed the S-400 deal, citing fears that mixing of the Russian weapon systems and the F-35 could give Moscow critical intelligence on the new jet’s capabilities and features. The Defense Department has already canceled all transfers of critical equipment for the F-35 related to the sale.
