A Department of Defense contract announcement on July 20 ended a year of speculation concerning the fate of the Lockheed Martin F-35As that are in production for Turkey, following the nation’s ousting from the F-35 program in July 2019.
As part of the $862 million contract modification, Lockheed Martin will deliver the eight aircraft in production Lot 14 originally destined for Turkey to the U.S. Air Force instead. The FY20 funds also cover six additional Lot 14 aircraft for the Air Force, as well as an undisclosed sum to modify the “repositioned” aircraft to full U.S. Air Force standards. These had been scheduled for delivery to Turkey from 2022 as part of an expected total of 100 aircraft.
While the announcement addresses the issue of aircraft in production, it does not clarify the future of the six completed aircraft that Turkey had already informally accepted and that remain in the U.S. Four of them were used for training Turkish pilots at Luke AFB, Arizona, and the other two are in storage at the Fort Worth factory. It is possible that funds will be allocated in FY21 for their modification for use by the U.S. Air Force.
In the meantime, Turkish industry continues to supply parts into the F-35 industrial program. While alternate sources have been found for all of the Turkey-supplied components, the ramp-up time for production at new sites might have an impact on production rates. As a result, it was decided to honor the existing contracts to permit a seamless transition to alternative suppliers. This decision may also reflect a softening of the Trump administration’s approach towards Ankara.
According to a Government Accountability Office report from May, Turkish industry will continue supplying parts until 2022.