Despite veiled embargoes imposed by the U.S. which have cost Turkey trillions of dollars over the years, Turkey has strengthened its domestic defense industry and produced countless vehicles and weapons, paving the way for the country to become self-sufficient.
The U.S. Senate passed a $716 billion defense policy bill late on Monday, taking the first step to blocking the delivery of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets to Turkey.
The F-35 jets join a long list of defense products whose delivery to Turkey has been suspended or delayed following the purchase of S-400 missile defense system from Russia, citing incompatibilities with NATO systems.
Among the embargoed arms are the Patriot air defense system, Chinook heavy transport choppers, AH-1 Cobra, H-60 Black Hawk helicopters and F-16 fighter jets.
Despite the bill, a statement by Pentagon spokesman Mike Andrews said that the inauguration ceremony of the warplanes will be held in Texas’s Lockheed Fort as planned on June 21, noting that the two F-35 fighters will then be moved to Arizona’s Luke Airforce Base, where Turkish pilots are slated to receive training on flying the state-of-art jets throughout 2019.
There was no longer any need to openly issue embargos when the Senate passed the bill following years of blocking the sale of essential weapons and ammos that Turkey needed in its fight against terror, under the pretext of congested production lines.
Not even joint production models bore expected fruits as the U.S. placed embargos on Turkey’s purchases for years.
Recently, however, veiled embargos failed as Turkey began to domestically produce its own weapons and systems, breaking the chains of dependence on foreign suppliers.
Had Turkey countered these ploys and completed its manufacturing revolution earlier, it would have been among the league of trillion-dollar economies.
Experts point that when accounting for the immeasurable cost of Turkey’s past dependence on the U.S. defense industry, the Turkish economy would have rivaled that of South Korea in a period of 30 to 40 years, or that of Germany in 60- 70 years under similar conditions.
Through the ploy and the sponsoring of puppet terror organizations, such as funding terrorists from the PYD with billions of dollars, the U.S. managed to keep Turkey distracted for years.
Retired professional engineer Colonel İbrahim Dipioğlu explained how the U.S. is attempting to push Turkey into a corner through its veiled embargos.
“How are these veiled practices put into place? For example, the delivery date of your defense material or system needs are pushed years into the future under the pretext of busy production lines.”
“Another way is through providing maintenance and spare parts at intervals determined by them in accordance with the performance-based logistic support clause signed upon receiving these defense systems. Thus by withholding them, they condemn you to a total reliance on them by needing constant maintenance and spare parts for using their systems.”
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 85-10 for the annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which authorizes U.S. military spending but is generally used as a vehicle for a broad range of policy matters.
The Senate NDAA also includes an amendment prohibiting sales to Turkey of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets made by Lockheed Martin Corp unless Trump certifies that Turkey is not threatening NATO, purchasing defense equipment from Russia or detaining U.S. citizens.
The amendment claimed that purchasing the S-400 system from Russia increases tensions and risks to the NATO alliance. It also demands the release of American Pastor Andrew Brunson, who is facing terror charges in Turkey.
Before it can be legislated, the bill must be reconciled with one already passed by the House of Representatives. That compromise measure must then be passed by both chambers and signed into law by Trump.
