Türkiye’s drones are disrupting conventional ground war doctrines, Pentagon officials said, indicating that the U.S. is closely following Ankara’s progress in this field.
Türkiye is a significant NATO ally, officials who requested anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media said. “There have been areas where we differed with Türkiye, however, Türkiye has the second strongest army after the United States. The most important point of disagreement was Türkiye’s purchase of S-400s,” the officials said, adding that Ankara was taken out of the F-35 program but that with the sale of F-16 modernization kits, the process has turned positive again.
The U.S. suspended Türkiye from the F-35 fighter jet program in 2019 after objecting to its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system, claiming Moscow's system would endanger the fighter jets and is inoperable with NATO systems.
Türkiye has demanded reimbursement for payments made for the F-35s and has since requested to buy F-16 warplanes and modernization kits to refresh its existing fleet.
After a prolonged process that frustrated Ankara, U.S. President Joe Biden's administration recently finally approved the $23 billion sale of 40 new F-16s, as well as nearly 80 kits after Türkiye formally ratified Sweden's membership in NATO.
Being asked whether Türkiye could be readmitted to the F-35 program, the officials said “Why not” and added that all options could be discussed as long as Türkiye does not activate its S-400s.
The officials pointed out that the whole world, including the U.S., is aware of Türkiye’s influence in the Middle East, Azerbaijan and the Eastern Mediterranean and added: “We know that President (Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan develops military and political policies in line with the interests of his country. We know Erdoğan as a leader who does and implements what he says. However, U.S. interests are also important to us.”
Saying that Washington understands Türkiye, the officials continued: “Türkiye pursuing policies to balance Russia has disturbed us at some points, yet despite everything, we believe that we will further strengthen our relations with Türkiye in the future."
The decades-old partnership between the two NATO allies, Türkiye and the U.S., underwent unprecedented tumult in the past five years over disagreements on many issues, including Syria and Ankara's closer ties with Moscow. There are additional sources of strain for the two countries, including the U.S. support for the YPG, whom Türkiye considers terrorists, and the continued U.S. residency of Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) figures, including its head Fethullah Gülen, who plotted the failed coup attempt against the Turkish government in 2016.
The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Türkiye and the European Union, and Washington's support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara. The U.S. primarily partnered with the YPG in northeastern Syria in its fight against the Daesh terrorist group, but Türkiye has strongly opposed the YPG's presence in northern Syria.
