Turkish F-35 delivered to training base in Arizona, official says

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Lockheed Martin-made F-35 fighter jet for Turkey arrived on Wednesday at the training facility at Luke Air Force Base amid a dispute with the United States over its planned purchase of a Russian missile system, an Air Force official said on Thursday.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that the United States halted delivery of equipment related to the stealthy F-35 fighter aircraft to Turkey. It marked the first concrete U.S. step to block delivery of the jet to the NATO ally in light of Ankara’s planned purchase of a Russian missile defense system.

This is the first of two jets expected to be delivered to the base this month. Two Turkish jets are already at the base. The second jet is scheduled to arrive at the base on Friday, the Air Force official said.

Separately, Pentagon spokesman Charlie Summers told reporters "The training will continue at Luke Air Force Base."

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has refused to back down from Ankara's planned purchase of a Russian S-400 missile defense system that the United States has said would compromise the security of the F-35, the most advanced U.S. fighter aircraft.

The United States and other NATO allies that own F-35s fear the radar on the Russian S-400 missile system will learn how to spot and track the jet, making it less able to evade Russian weapons.

In an attempt to persuade Turkey to drop its plans to buy the S-400, the United States offered the pricier American-made Patriot anti-missile system in a discounted deal that expired at the end of March. Turkey has shown interest in the Patriot system, but not at the expense of abandoning the S-400.

Turkey has engaged with U.S. negotiators in recent days about buying the Patriot system, a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. The system is made by Raytheon Co.

(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Phil Berlowitz)