Sputnik News:
The United States’ threats to slap sanctions on Turkey for its purchase of S-400 missile defense systems from Russia and the Turkish government’s subsequent vow to retaliate have drastically raised tensions between the two NATO allies.
Speaking to Reuters, the NATO Allied Air Commander General Tod Wolters said that Turkey’s plans to buy Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile defense system would help Moscow accumulate information about range of detection and other characteristics of the US-made F-35 stealth fighter jets, as they are gaining a foothold in Europe.
“Anything that an S-400 can do that affords it the ability to better understand a capability like the F-35 is certainly not to the advantage of the coalition,” Walters said.
According to a spokesman for the US Air Force, Norway, Italy and Britain are expected to have a total of 40 F-35s in Europe by the end of the year, with 24 more to be supplied in 2019; the Netherlands are also set to receive two aircraft.
