Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited the
White House for the first time in six years, bringing with him a series
of proposed agreements aimed at repairing the fractured relationship
between the two NATO member states.
The meeting last Thursday with US President Donald Trump
was expected to clear the way for Turkey to acquire everything from
Lockheed Martin and Boeing aircraft to liquefied natural gas worth more
than $50 billion, according to Turkish officials, who requested
anonymity because the agreements have not been finalized.
The largest portion of the potential agreements on Thursday is
expected to be in aviation. Boeing and Lockheed Martin may receive
orders for up to 250 commercial airplanes along with additional F-16
fighter jets, Turkish officials said.
The purpose of the warplane purchase is to modernize the Turkish Air
Force’s aging fighter fleet and adapt it to the challenges of the coming
decade.
More importantly, Trump said previously that there is a chance to resolve the long-standing impasse regarding F-35 stealth jets.
Ankara was an original partner in Lockheed’s most advanced fighter
jet program, but was removed after it acquired Russia’s S-400 air
defense system. This acquisition resulted in congressional sanctions,
known as CAATSA, which are directed at Turkey’s defense industries and
remain in effect.
Assa Ophir, a Turkey expert from the Department of
Middle Eastern Studies at Ariel University, said “the issue that should
concern Israel most is Turkey’s desire to rejoin the stealth jet project
and receive the F-35 aircraft.”
He continued, saying that “the US expelled Turkey from the program in
2019 because it purchased the Russian S-400 defense systems. Stealth
jets in Erdoğan’s hands could lead to the loss of Israel’s air
superiority in the region, and this is a very undesirable outcome for
it. But the path for Turkey’s return to the stealth project and the
receipt of the aircraft is still long.”
Ophir added that “Erdoğan will need to overcome two serious obstacles
that do not depend solely on Donald Trump—CAATSA, which imposes
sanctions on all countries that buy military equipment from Russia, and
the National Defense Authorization Act—both of which [would require]
laws that must be passed through the US Congress, where there is a
hostile atmosphere toward Turkey.”
Originally published by Israel Hayom.
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