Turkey refuses to give Ukraine the $2.5bn SA-21 Growler air defence systems that caused it to be excluded from the development programme for the F-35 fifth-generation fighter jet

The U.S. has found another way to strengthen the Ukraine's air defence system. Turkey, however, did not like it very much.

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The United States has offered Turkey to send S-400 (NATO-codified SA-21 Growler) surface-to-air missile systems to Ukraine. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey had rejected the idea, as it violated the country's sovereignty and independence.

The purchase of the SA-21 Growler cost Turkey a lot of money. The cost of the deal was $2.5 billion, but in this case we are not talking about the price, but about what Ankara has lost. The US has tried several times to persuade Turkey to give up Russian air defence systems, arguing that it threatens national security.

In the summer of 2019, US authorities said the Russian surface-to-air missile systems were not compatible with other NATO defence systems and posed a threat to the security of Alliance countries. The decision to acquire the SA-21 Growler left Turkey without the F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation fighter jets. Ankara was part of the F-35 development programme office and wanted to order 100 aircraft.

General Todd Walters, commander of NATO allied forces in Europe, spoke at the 2019 NATO Security Forum in Bratislava. He said the Alliance was not interested in sharing fifth-generation aircraft capabilities with Russia.

The U.S. Defense Department feared that if Turkey ordered the SA-21 Growler, the Russian military would gain access to the F-35 and could learn about the vulnerabilities of the fifth-generation fighters. This would threaten the safety of American pilots. As a result, Turkey has been excluded from the F-35 programme and has been unable to agree on a $20 billion purchase of upgraded fourth generation F-16 Viper Block 70/72 fighters for several years.

Source: Haberturk