Senate delegation seeks delayed removal of Turkey from fighter jet supply chain

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) has forwarded correspondence to the Department of Defense regarding the timeline for removing Turkey from the F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter supply chain.

In the letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Lankford joined Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in expressing concerns about the pace at which the Department of Defense is working to remove Turkey from the supply chain.

“The legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump sent a clear diplomatic message to Turkey about the consequences of moving forward with Russian defense systems and technology,” the legislators wrote.“Unfortunately, that strong message is being undermined by the Department’s repeated delays in removing Turkey from the supply chain. By keeping Turkish manufacturers in the supply chain two years after the initial statute took effect and well beyond the Pentagon’s self-imposed deadline, the Department is impeding our nation’s diplomatic and geopolitical efforts to pressure Turkey to reverse course.”

Congress has always understood removing Turkey from the supply chain would create additional expenses for the Department and the taxpayers, per the lawmakers.

“However, this financial disruption is necessary in order to preserve the integrity of the program and affirm our nation’s diplomatic commitments under NATO,” the legislators concluded. “We encourage you to reexamine the present approach and take action to ensure an expedited removal of Turkey from the manufacturing line as required by law.”