US, Turkey to negotiate over possibility of reacquisition of F-35 jets in January: Reports

The United States has agreed to hold negotiations on the F-35 fighter jet deal with Turkic counterparts in later January or early February, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Sunday. The meeting comes after Akar earlier this month informed that the preparations were underway to resolved the issues pertaining to the deal.

"As for the F-35s, we asked (the US), we paid this much, how shall we go about it he compensation? The American side said they understood. We agreed at the end of January- the beginning of February. Our delegation will go to the US. Six F-35s for Turkey are in a hangar. We are discussing what will happen to them," Akar was quoted as saying by the Turkish Milliyet newspaper.

It is pertinent to mention that Turkey had placed an order for more than 100 F-35 'stealth fighters' from the US in early 2019. However, later the same year the US expelled Ankara from the deal when the latter purchased S-400 missiles from Russia, despite a continued warning from Washington. By then Turkey had already begun manufacturing parts for the production of F-35s. Washington argued that F-35s could not co-exist with the intelligence-gathering platform since it may pose threat to the fighters used by US Defence, thus, creating a major roadblock for Turkey to strike a deal with Washington. In January, Akar defended US' move, saying that the removal of Turkey from the programme "was a necessity, not a choice."

Turkey later hired a law firm, Arnold and Porter, to lobby for its reintegration into the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program and gain "strategic advice and outreach." In October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has informed that Washington invited Turkey to buy F-16 jets in return for the investments in the F-35 JSF. To this, President Tayyip had retorted saying Anka would seek compensation for its termination from the program. However, this January the US agreed to resolve the impasse over the F-35 deal after sitting for negotiations in early 2022, Akar had said. Notably, Ankara has made payments worth $1.4 billion to Washington before getting expelled from the JSF deal.

F-35 'most powerful' stealth jets

Lockheed Martin F-35 jets are stealth multirole combat aircraft with excellent superiority in airstrike missions. It is a Lighting II American Family craft of single-seat, single-engine with credible performance in all-weather. It has mainly three variants F-35A conventional take-off and landing variant, F-35B short takeoff/ vertical landing, and F-35C carrier variant, Lockheed Martin mentions on its website. It is the "most advanced" fight jet in the world that strengthens national security, enhances global partnerships and powers economic growth. The "lethal and survivable" fighter jet allows military forces to access advanced avionics.

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