US snaps up would-be Turkish F-35As
Eight F-35A fighter aircraft that were originally destined for Turkey have been ‘repositioned’ for the USAF, under a 20 July DoD contract award to Lockheed Martin.
Turkey had intended to buy 100 F-35s but the country was expelled from the programme in 2019 for acquiring the S-400 missile system from Russia.
Additionally, the DoD ordered Lockheed Martin to provide ‘recurring engineering in support of the modification of the eight Lot 14 F-35A Lightning II repositioned aircraft to a fully operationally capable F-35A Air Force configuration’.
The $861.73 million contract modification will also see the USAF procure six other Lot 14 production F-35As.
Work is to be completed by May 2026.
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