What are the Pros and Cons of the F-35 Fighter Jet? The Scope of the F-35 Multinational Program and the Removal of Program Partner Turkey from the Program: Part 6

F-35 Production Locations

F-35 fuselage sections and engines are manufactured in several different locations. Lockheed Martin, the aircraft's prime contractor, produces the forward fuselage section in Fort Worth, Texas. Northrop Grumman makes the center fuselage in Palmdale, California. The tail section is manufactured by BAE Systems in the UK. Final assembly of the aircraft takes place at the Lockheed Martin plant in Fort Worth.

Final assembly and inspection facilities have also been established in Italy (Cameri) and Japan (Nagoya). In July 2010, Lockheed and Italy's Alenia Aeronautica reached an agreement to build an F-35 final assembly and inspection facility at Cameri Air Base in Italy to deliver aircraft to Italy and the Netherlands. The facility opened in July 2013. A similar facility in Japan became operational in 2017.

The Pratt & Whitney F135 engine used in the F-35 is manufactured in Connecticut at the nearby East Hartford and Middletown sites. Rolls-Royce also manufactures the vertical landing unit for the F-35B in Indianapolis.

Norway and the Netherlands have agreed to host the European engine overhaul and logistics facilities left in the wake of Turkey's withdrawal from the program.

Multinational Participation 

The F-35 program is known as the largest international cooperation program of the United States. The United States has chosen to cover some of the development and production costs, which were particularly burdensome in the initial phase, through the mechanism of program partner countries. In this way, the program was secured by having more production opportunities, and by allocating the product development costs to a larger number of aircraft, it was possible to reduce the normally high unit cost of the aircraft to reasonable figures.  

By participating in the F-35 program, allied program partners had the opportunity to gain know-how in new technology areas such as stealth, to include their own defence industry companies in the program as production partners, and to gain various industrial opportunities. Eight countries (the UK, Canada, Denmark, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Italy, Turkey, Norway, Italy, Turkey and Australia), referred to as 'International Partners', became partners in the program for the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) and subsequent production phases. Within the framework of the F-35 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in this context, system development and demonstration activities were initiated jointly. The 17-year-long SDD activities were completed on April 11, 2018. In line with the SDD requirements, the F-35 development flight crew performed more than 9,200 flight sorties, a total of 17,000 hours of test flights were performed, and more than 65,000 test points/reflights were performed. Operational Test and Evaluation flights were also conducted with the support of the allies. During this process, flight test engineers from Turkey (TAI) also participated in flight activities as part of the test and evaluation team for temporary periods.

Program Participation Partnership Levels

These eight partner countries have contributed varying amounts of money to the research and development fund for the F-35 aircraft, in return for which they have received various levels of participation in the F-35 program (I, II or III). In theory, the levels of international participation in the F-35 program are determined by the amount of money a country contributes to the program. In general terms, the higher the financial contribution, the more influence a country has in determining the design requirements of the aircraft and the more access it has to technologies acquired during design and development. 

Level 1 Participation Partner: 

This is the level requiring a 10% contribution. The UK is the only country at this level. Level 1 Partner status entitles the UK to have a say in approximately 10% of the aircraft development process. The UK is able to permanently station its national personnel in the US, which is fully integrated into the program. The UK has also been given a director's seat in the F-35 program office, which is the deputy to the US head of the F-35 program office, which is responsible for all aspects of the program. 

Level II Participation Partner: 

Italy and the Netherlands are participating countries at this level. Italy entered the program with an initial contribution of $1 billion and the Netherlands with an initial contribution of $800 million. In return, Italy wanted to have its own F-35 final assembly line in addition to the F-35 maintenance and upgrade facility offered to it, and for this money, it was able to realize its wish. 

Level III Participation Partner: 

With contributions ranging from $125 million to $175 million, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Norway, Canada and Turkey participated in the F-35 program at this level.

International Sales and Quantities 

Sales of F-35s to countries other than the United States and its program partners have also been conducted in accordance with the standard Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process, including congressional notification. For example, sales to Israel, Japan and South Korea were made in accordance with the standard Foreign Military Sales (FMS) process, including congressional notification. Such countries are also referred to as security cooperation countries. 

Israel committed to purchase 33 F-35s, with an option to purchase up to 50 later. 

Japan, on the other hand, chose the F-35 as the fighter of the future in October 2011. In August 2019, it agreed with the United States to purchase 147 F-35Bs. 

South Korea, which is developing its own fifth-generation fighter, the KF-21, and last week flew its third KF-21 prototype, also decided to purchase the F-35 in 2014. 

In the following years, Finland and Switzerland expressed interest in acquiring 64 and 36 F-35s, respectively. In the coming years, it is expected that more F-35s will be sold to other willing countries, and that a total of more than 2,000 aircraft will be sold to countries other than the United States.

The cost of the F-35 for the countries that will buy the aircraft is determined in part by the total quantity of F-35s produced. As the program has progressed, new customers have emerged. In the meantime, some program partner countries have increased their purchases, while others have postponed their plans to buy the F-35 for future years.

The list of non-US user countries and the number of F-35s they have purchased is shown in the table below. New countries are expected to be added to this table in the near future.

*Turkiye, which plans to buy 100 F-35As, was a level II partner before being removed from the program.

Canada has finally made the decision to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets to replace the CF-18 Hornet fighter jets in the Air Force inventory as of January 10, 2023. The total cost of the F-35s to Canada, including the life cycle, is estimated at 70 billion Canadian dollars. The first 4 aircraft are expected to be delivered to Canada by 2026.

With the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine War, Germany started to focus on armament. In the summer of 2022, it reached an agreement with the Pentagon on a package of 35 aircraft (F-35A) worth 8.4 billion dollars.

Removal of Turkey from the Program 

Turkey has been involved in the JSF program since 1999. In return for the package of 100 aircraft to be procured under the program, Turkish defense industry companies have received work packages from this program within the framework of agreements. Thus, Turkish companies were entitled to produce more than 900 parts of the F-35 fighter jet in Turkey. Turkey's inclusion in the program and its ability to produce many parts of the aircraft contributed positively to the development of the Turkish defense industry and, in this sense, to Turkish-American relations during the period of being a part of the F-35 program. 

Linking the S-400 to the F-35 Program

Since 2017, with the revelation that Turkey's preference for the S-400 dominated the procurement of missile defense systems, questions have been raised as to how Turkey, a NATO member, was able to purchase a Russian defense system. The United States and some prominent NATO members found it necessary to raise their objections to the Russian air defense system without delay. The fact that the S-400 missile defense system was produced by Russia, a country that poses a threat to NATO, was at the core of the debate. Thus, the issue became the "S-400 problem" between the Western world and Turkey. Even before the S-400 issue, some in the US, who no longer wanted to see Turkey as an "ally", wanted to hide behind various "justifications" for not delivering the F-35s. In addition, the S-400 issue reinforced these justifications and became an even more prominent and useful excuse. In various platforms and statements, it has been put forward by various segments in the United States that if the S-400 procurement had not taken place, other pretexts (the case of the Presidential Bodyguards in the US and the case of Pastor Brunson in Turkey) would have been put forward to exclude Turkey from the F-35 program. 

In the summer of 2017, some members of Congress expressed their opinion that the purchase of the S-400 Defense System from Russia would put the security of the F-35 fighter jets at risk. The US Department of Defense was asked to prepare a report on the impact of Turkey's exclusion from the F-35 program.  Thus, the S-400 issue has become a kind of "go, no-go" criterion for the American side in terms of whether Turkey should continue in the F-35 program. 

Lockheed Martin, taking into account that Turkey's exclusion from the F-35 program would result in the exclusion of Turkish defense industry companies from the production chain in the program consortium, has been trying to find alternative suppliers.

In the same period, the US stated that Turkey's procurement of the S-400 air defense system and the continuation of its partnership in the F-35 program are interrelated issues. American experts claimed that the deployment of the S-400 in Turkey could jeopardize the flight safety of the F-35. American officials have argued that the Russians could access "secret" information about the F-35s through the radars in the S-400 system and make indirect technology transfer. Turkey, on the other hand, argued that the acquisition of the Russian system would in no way harm Western defense systems and declared that "the S-400s will not be integrated with the F-35s" in order to prevent possible misinterpretations. 

Delivery of the First F-35 to Turkey

In the absence of an official decision, the F-35 program delivery schedule for Turkey continued to operate in the midst of the US administration's and the Congress's airy threats and assessments. However, due to the "uncertainty", the Turkish side was limited to a low-level participation (Deputy Undersecretary for Defense Industries Serdar Demirel and Air Major General Reha Ufuk Er representing the Turkish General Staff) in the ceremony to deliver the first F-35 fighter jet (tail number 18- 0001) to Turkey on June 21, 2018 at the Fort Worth campus of Lockheed Martin's F-35 production facilities in Texas. Thus, the first aircraft was "received" with a ceremony. 

Meanwhile, two fighter pilots and aircraft technicians from Turkey have begun F-35 combat readiness training at the training squadron in Arizona. 

In November 2018, a Pentagon report to Congress outlined the operational and intelligence risks that could arise if Turkey acquires the S-400 system. The report assessed that Turkey's acquisition of the S-400 could put at risk not only the F-35 but also other US weapons and systems. The US Department of Defense has argued that Turkey should abandon the S-400 defense system on the grounds that Russia could gain access to NATO defense systems. 

In the final analysis, the Pentagon claimed that Russian military personnel would have the opportunity to access the technical data of the F-35 aircraft, which is open to allies, with the fragmentary information sets that they would collect from the S-400 radar systems. The report stated that the mandatory presence of Russian personnel in Turkey, even for the installation, acceptance tests, user training and periodic maintenance of the S-400 system, would create problems in terms of access to F-35 information. Therefore, the US has been hinting since 2018 that if Turkey buys the S-400, the F-35 package of 100 aircraft planned to enter the inventory of the Turkish Air Force under the F-35 program could be "canceled". In addition, it was emphasized that if it was decided to remove Turkey from the F-35 program, the business shares of Turkish defense industry companies within the framework of the program partnership would also have to be canceled. 

With the 2019 budget law adopted by the US in November 2018, it was decided to suspend the delivery of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey for one year. The US declared that if Turkey did not back down from its decision to purchase the S-400, Turkey could be removed from the F-35 program and the transfer of the four F-35 fighter jets included in the Turkish Air Force inventory to Turkey might not take place. Nevertheless, the progress expected by the US has not materialized on the Turkish side. 

Suspension of F-35 User Training for Turkish Personnel 

According to the news first reported in the US media on April 1, 2019, and later confirmed by the US Department of Defense, the user training on the F-35 aircraft for officers and non-commissioned officers (42 personnel in total) assigned by Turkey has been terminated and the delivery of materials and equipment related to the F-35 fighter jets has also been stopped. This information was shared with Turkish officials before it was announced by the official authorities. 

"Turkey's decision to purchase the S-400 air defense system from Russia makes Turkey's participation in the F-35 program impossible," the US administration said in a press release on June 17, 2019. 

Despite all US sanctions threats and warnings, as of July 12, 2019, the S-400 missile defense system began to be delivered in pieces to Mürted Air Base (Ankara) by transport planes and the S-400 systems began to be installed in the temporary deployment area designated in this base. The United States followed the delivery of the S-400 systems to Turkey piece by piece and, in parallel, began to take steps to minimize Turkey's role and participation in the F-35 program. 

Turkey's Exclusion from the F-35 Program

The arrival of the S-400s in Turkey was the last straw for the United States. As a result, Congress took action in line with the Pentagon report and decided to remove Turkey from the F-35 program on July 17, 2019. Subsequently, Turkish personnel, who were stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and Eglin Air Force Base in Florida for user training, but whose training was suspended in April, were asked to leave the US by July 31, 2019. In line with this decision, the training activity was terminated and Turkish personnel returned to Turkey. Based on the decision adopted by Congress, it was decided to start the process of phasing Turkey out of the F-35 program. On the same day, the White House notified Turkey that Turkey was officially removed from the F-35 program. As an extension of this decision, it was deemed "necessary" to remove the relevant companies in the Turkish defense industry from the F-35 fighter jet production chain. In this context, Washington announced that Turkey had been removed from the F-35 program and that its participation in the program would be minimized. 

In response, Turkey informed the United States that its exclusion from the program was "contrary to the spirit of alliance", that the reason for its exclusion was not legitimate and that it considered it an unfair decision. Nevertheless, the United States took a course of action that is not covered by any international law and had the audacity to exclude Turkey, which is one of the main producer countries in the consortium of manufacturers of this aircraft, from the program with a unilateral de facto decision. 

On the other hand, the fact that none of the other program partner countries raised their voices against this unilateral and biased decision of the United States was seen as problematic in itself in terms of partnership and alliance relations. 

The Effects of Turkey's Exclusion from the F-35 Program

At the end of 2019, the National Authorization Act decided to indefinitely deny the F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. Subsequently, sanctions under CAATSA were initiated as of April 7, 2021. In this context, the rights of the Presidency of Defense Industries to use export licenses in the US and to use loans from US-linked financial institutions were revoked on an institutional basis. 

Turkey's exclusion from the F-35 program has caused Lockheed Martin to face market losses. On the other hand, the US had no difficulty in finding new markets for the aircraft to be delivered to Turkey by selling F-35s to countries such as Finland. 

Turkey's exclusion from the F-35 industrial program has resulted in losses and job losses for Turkish aerospace industry facilities. Turkey, for example, was directly producing 188 parts of the F135 engine. A total of 10 Turkish companies were involved in the development and/or production of the F-35. Among them, Turkish defense industry companies such as Alp Havacılık, Ayesaş, Kale Havacılık, Kale Pratt & Whitney and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) continued to be involved in the production processes of all F-35 fighters produced and delivered to member countries until 2021. 

As part of Turkey's participation in the F-35 program, this industrial segment, which received a share of the work, lost part of its parts orders, a work package worth approximately $1.4 billion. Turkey also faced the consequence of the end of technology acquisition and the end of the collaborative environment, which is an extension of the production of these parts.

In the seventh part of this series, I will discuss the overall cost of the F-35 program, operational constraints, and F-35 accidents/incidents to date.