Pentagon spokesman Jessica Maxwell confirmed that Turkey has been officially notified of the exclusion from the F-35 fifth generation fighter program. According to her, this decision is associated with the purchase by Ankara of the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) from Russia.
“Our position has not changed. The S-400s are incompatible with the F-35s and Turkey has been removed from the program. We continue to move forward in the process of officially excluding Turkey from the partnership on [разработке] F-35 as announced in July 2019, “Maxwell said.
At the same time, she could not explain why the official notification was sent only now, if Washington made a decision two years ago.