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Turkey ‘receives’ first 2 F-35 fighter jets… for training in Arizona

Turkey has received the first two F-35 jets from the US, but with a catch: the planes will stay in the US until end of 2019 as Turkish pilots are training to fly them and Senate continues attempts to bar Ankara from getting F-35s, RT reports.

Turkey ‘receives’ first 2 F-35 fighter jets… for training in Arizona

Turkey ‘receives’ first 2 F-35 fighter jets… for training in Arizona

STEPANAKERT, JUNE 22, ARTSAKHPRESS:“We are entering a new era altogether, and this also holds true for the Turkish air force,” Orlando Carvalho, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin's Aeronautics business area, said at the ceremony held at Lockheed Martin's plant in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday.

Turkey’s Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Industries Serdar Demirel attended the event, while the US was only represented by local officials, namely Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and state Rep. Craig Goldman (R-Fort Worth), according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Following the delivery ceremony, the two F-35 fighter jets are headed to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, where Turkish pilots and technicians will get familiar with the fifth-generation fighter jet. The planes are expected to reach Turkish soil by the end of 2019.

While the Turkish military seems to be optimistic about acquiring the F-35s, US legislators have repeatedly been trying to torpedo the shipment of the fighter jets altogether, citing Ankara’s decision to buy S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia.


     

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