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Turkey participated in the F-35 project in 2002, after Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI-TUSAŞ) took on the manufacturing of some components in the aircraft’s body as part of the international consortium led by Lockheed Martin Corp.
The country committed to purchase at least 100 F-35s planned to replace F-4 fighter jets scheduled for delivery in 2018, which will soon be discontinued, and an agreement worth $11.5 billion was signed, of which a portion has already been paid. A top Air Force official on Wednesday said that Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missiles could affect the country’s acquisition or operation of the F-35s, according to Defense News.
Security problem
Turkey had showed its alliance with the West by being involved in the F-35 project opposed to Eurofighter, but has recently been faced with covert sanctions by the United States and its other NATO allies, which led the country to question the project. This is because Turkey will be fully dependent on the U.S. in performance-based logistics (PBL) management while using the F-35 fighter jets.
As the U.S. and NATO pressure mounts on Turkey to stop the purchase of the powerful S-400 missile system from Russia, the American administration has threatened that it may not go forward with a plan to deliver F-35 fighter jets ordered by Turkey. In retaliation to the American blackmail, Ankara may take measures of its own in response, atop of which is the possible dismantling of the powerful Malatya- Kürecik AN-TPY-2 radar that was set up by the U.S. in 2012. In a bid to dissuade Turkey from going forward with the purchase of the powerful S-400 missile defense system, the U.S. had warned that such a move “would jeopardize the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.” Ankara has taken the heat for Kürecik radarIn the event that the U.S. violates its agreement with Turkey regarding the F-35 fighter jets deal, this will lead to Israel being widely exposed to ballistic missile threats, as the Kürecik radar, which has been set up with the purpose of detecting any missile fired at Israel, is capable of spotting all types of flying objects or projectiles at high altitudes and at a maximum distance of 1,000 kilometers, which chiefly covers Iran, among other countries in the region.As part of its agreements with NATO, Turkey has given permission for the deployment of the radar to its territory, much to the dismay of Russia and Iran, who expressed their sharp opposition to such a move. Faced with growing pressure from Tehran and Moscow for the sake of the security of the NATO alliance, Turkey will not bow to the U.S.’s blackmail attempts by using the S-400 deal as a pretext to renege on the F-35 jets agreement.Mattis: S-400 deal a sovereign decision for TurkeyTurkey says purchase of S-400 from Russia 'completed'Israel will become blindThanks to the radar located in Kürecik, the entire western territories of Iran, all the way to the borders of Tehran are visible to NATO. Other radars in the region that boast similar features are located in Israel, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE. However, the range of Israel’s 1300-kilometer radar is only capable of reaching Iran’s borders. The ones set up by the U.S. in Qatar and the UAE, which aren’t part of NATO, are only capable of observing as far as Iran’s southern regions.In case Turkey decides to dismantle the Kürecik radar in response to the ongoing attempts by the U.S. to use the F-35 jets to blackmail Turkey, Israel will lose its “early warning system” in case of a missile launch from eastern or northern Iran. Despite the fact that the S-400 missile defense system will run independently from the NATO network, the F-35 jets deal is being used to blackmail Turkey, whose patience is thinning after multiple attempts to block the purchase of the advanced Russian system. By 2030, Turkey is scheduled to receive a total of 116 fifth generation F-35 fighter jets, parts of which are produced domestically by TAI-TUSAŞ.NATO's plan to attack Turkey in 2018Turkey, NATO alliance should not be 'undermined'NATO chief apologizes to Erdoğan over drill incident
Turkey may remove US radar if F-35s not delivered on schedule
Increasing cost
The increasing tension between Turkey and its NATO allies causes security concerns. Moreover, while the F-35 jets were planned to be produced for $40 million each, their price has been increased to $110 million, which leads Turkey to question their cost-efficiency. Meanwhile, Russia plans to produce SU-57 fighter jets as the equivalent to F-35s at $50 million each.
National project is a must
Another disadvantage is that an aircraft with the features of the visualized concept has not yet been produced. Turkey put forward its possible measures after the U.S. threat, including the modernization of the F-4 fighter jets. After perceiving the threat of covert sanctions, it has long since focused on the manufacture of national fighter TFX’s.
Turkey wrongly accused of an axis shift
While Turkey is being accused of an axis shift by the EU and its NATO allies, the country is in fact being forced to search for new paths due to the fact that it has been hindered in similar projects. The United States earlier did not meet its demand for the Super Cobra attack helicopters, thus Turkey met its need with the domestic T129 ATAK helicopter. Turkey produced its own armed unmanned aerial vehicles as its demand for the MQ-1 Predator was not met as well. When considered from this point of view, Turkey is actually being forced to shift its axis by the U.S. because of its attitude.
NATO’s scandalous “Trident Javelin” military exercise is still being criticized by many, as it targeted Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.Turkey on Friday decided to withdraw its 40 troops from the joint NATO drill conducted in Norway after he and Atatürk were depicted as “enemies.”Reports say that the incident took place one week before the drill ended. It was launched on Nov. 8, the exercise in which the two Turkish leaders were depicted as enemies occurred on Nov. 13 and the drill ended on Nov. 16. President Erdoğan was notified of the incident on Nov. 17 and announced it to the public. "There can be no such unity, no such alliance," said the Turkish President.Although the heinous plan is trying to be presented as an incident that “was the result of an individual’s actions,” it serves a greater purpose: preparing for an operation against Turkey. The enemy country was designated as the country of “Skolken” in the scenario of the war game in Norway.NATO chief apologizes to Erdoğan over drill incident'Dictator' of fictional countryA technician in the Norwegian army put Atatürk’s portrait in the “hostile leader list” as the “dictator” of Skolken during a computer-assisted exercise. The scenario of the drill also included a war scenario that broke out due to the social media content posted by the leader of Skolken. A fake account opened by a Norwegian contract military officer of Turkish origin was part of the drill’s scenario. The officer opened a fake account named “RTerdogan” and identified Erdoğan as the enemy target and depicted him as an “enemy of NATO” who allegedly made deals that was harmed NATO.NATO starts a war against SkolkenIn the generic scenario of the drill, there were remarkable similarities between the fictional country of Skolken and Turkey. According to the scenario, Skolken had made important progress in the bid to buy the S-400 defense systems, and Skolken and the manufacturer country of the S-400s had recently developed closer relations.Turkey has completed the purchases of the S-400 missile system from Russia, Turkish National Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said on Saturday.NATO declared war against Skolken, following these developments and its leader’s social media posts, the scenario depicted. Although NATO attempted to slur over the scandal, saying that “the incidents were the result of an individual’s actions and does not reflect the views of NATO,” the details reveal that this drill was attributed particularly to Turkey.Turkey, NATO alliance should not be 'undermined'Preparation for an operationThe drill has been interpreted as “preparations for an operation against Turkey.” The real scenario was to turn NATO against Turkey by spreading fake discourses through President Erdoğan.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg issued a statement apologizing for the incident saying that an investigation was underway."It will be for the Norwegian authorities to decide on any disciplinary action," Stoltenberg added.Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar in his meeting with Jens Stoltenberg said that an investigation launched by Norwegian authorities regarding the incidents should not be limited to the people responsible for it, underlining the need for an “extensive” investigation. He also noted that “those who try to exploit NATO for their own agendas should not be allowed to harm cooperation among NATO allies.”NATO drills prepared months beforehandIt is not coincidental that an account named “RTerdogan” was opened and that Atatürk was targeted as the “enemy country’s leader” in the drill, as NATO’s scenarios for its annual drills are written down to the very last detail months before its scheduled date within the chain of command. All materials to be used in drills are also prepared in advance. The Trident Javelin exercise, which personnel from the Turkish Armed Forces also joined, was also one of the planned drills of NATO.Trident Javelin, the fourth of the annual Trident Juncture exercises held for the certification of NATO’s response force, was conducted to certify the Allied Joint Force Commands in Netherlands’ Brunssum and Italy’s Napoli. Following the drill, the joint force would be certified to perform their NATO tasks in 2018. Therefore, Javelin is being evaluated as the exercise for the preparation of a possible operation that NATO will launch in 2018.Possible FETÖ involvementFive of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization’s (FETÖ) military officers who held office at the NATO base where the drill was conducted until last year’s coup attempt were granted political asylum in Norway after July 15. Thus, it was also considered that FETÖ might be involved in the scandalous incident. Former Brigadier General Gökhan Şahin Sönmezateş, one of FETÖ’s gunmen during the July 15 coup attempt, was also among those who held office in NATO headquarters 10 years ago.FETÖ terrorists are led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gülen, who orchestrated Turkey's July 15 coup attempt and is the mastermind behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.Erdoğan condemns 'impudence' during NATO drillTurkey’s opposition seeks more than apology from NATODeputy PM slams NATO enemy chart
NATO's plan to attack Turkey in 2018
Budget is enough to produce domestic aircraft
Defense experts have stated that with a budget of $11.5 billion, Turkey could design and manufacture a national and domestic aircraft, as well as assuming its PBL management. The Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) should consider multinational projects with the countries that Turkey could share the future, such as Qatar, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Turkic Republics and the Eastern European countries, in such major projects requiring advanced technology and high cost, experts say.
South Korean model
Experts also note that the South Korean model can be referred to in the defense industry. The shortest way to reach South Korea’s level in terms of technology and geopolitical power balance is to establish a new iron and steel industry with China in Turkey, which will improve Turkey’s industry.