Reuters reported last week that the US may soon freeze the supply of F-35 aircraft to Turkey, a move that could emphasize the rift between Ankara and Washington.
Most likely Turkey will be excluded from the F-35 program. The expert dilemma is on the Ankara's key role in the aircraft construction process.
S400
At the heart of the matter is Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's commitment to buy a Russian air defense system (S-400) that the US believes could compromise the safety of F-35 aircraft.
There are fears that the radar on the Russian S-400 missile system may learn to detect and locate the F-35.
To remedy this technical problem, the United States has offered Turkey the most expensive Patriot anti-missile system at a large discount, the offer expiring at the end of March. The condition of the big discount is that Ankara will permanently abandon its plans to buy the S-400.
So far, however, Ankara has shown no intention of reversing the purchase of the S-400, forcing the United States to explore a future for the F-35 program without Turkey. The problems are linked, however, to the commitments of Turkey which, as planned, was to build parts of the fuselage, the landing gear and the cockpit display.
"There are about 800 parts that Turkey produces for the F-35, and of these, very few are the only source," said one person with first-hand knowledge of the US position, explaining that individual parts of Turkey can be replaced by contractors who had previously offered to do so ".
According to a Pentagon F35 production employee: "Replacing or finding substitutes for Turkish members would slow down production for a period of three months at the Lockheed Martin facility that builds the Jets ".
Lockheed Martin declined to comment.
Turkey has the opposite opinion
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said last December that Ankara plays a significant role in the production of the trillion dollar jet and therefore it is not easy to remove it from the program.
But sources say that several components of the F-35 manufactured in Turkey can be easily replaced. For example, the central fuselage produced in Ankara could be produced by Northrop Grumman, who would make it in California.
Meanwhile, more Turkish pilots will begin training at US Air Force bases, joining the Turkish pilots already present, and Ankara is still hoping to take delivery of two F-35s scheduled for November 2019.
US Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said on Tuesday that he wants Turkey into the F-35 program, but added that Ankara must purchase the Patriot missile defense system.