U.S. Air Force plans to purchase F-35 jet fighters previously intended for Turkey

WASHINGTON / ANKARA — The U.S. Department of Defense announced that the U.S. Air Force decided to purchase eight modern F-35 jet fighters originally intended to be delivered to Turkey from Lockheed Martin, a U.S. aerospace and defense company.

The fighter jets, worth $ 862 million, will be purchased by the U.S. Air Force through the modification of an existing contract with Lockheed Martin.

The U.S. excluded Turkey from the F-35 program after the latter bought the S-400 anti-aircraft missile defense systems from Russia.

The F-35s were ready to be delivered to Turkey and Turkish pilots were being trained to use them in the U.S. However, following Turkey’s decision to purchase the purchase the S-400 from Russia, the training program was halted with the U.S. even threatening to impose sanctions on Turkey.