(
Apr. 5, 2019
/ JNS
)
The U.S. Department of Defense delivered an F-35 jet meant for Turkey to an Arizona air-force base instead, where Turkish pilots will be trained.
The Pentagon announced on Monday that it has halted all F-35 aircraft shipments to Turkey due to Ankara planning to acquire a Russian missile-defense system.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a NATO meeting in Washington on Wednesday that the S-400 purchase was a “done deal.”
Another F-35 could be delivered to the base on Friday, Vice Adm. Mat Winter, the DOD’s F-35 program manager, told Bloomberg News on Thursday.
“Both aircraft were given approval to ferry to Luke [Air Force base in Arizona] and join the test squadron,” he said.
