US to buy F35 jets intended for Turkey

American Defence Department announced on Monday that it would buy the eight F-35A fighter jets which had been intended for Turkey as the US ousted Ankara from the joint strike fighter program last year, Defence News reported.

“The US Air Force will officially buy eight F-35A conventional takeoff and landing jets originally built by Lockheed Martin for Turkey as part of a $862 million contract modification,” the website reported the US Defence Department saying.

It added: “The deal also contains an additional six F-35As built for the Air Force and modifications that will bring the Turkish jets in line with the US configuration.”

Turkey had planned to buy 100 F-35As over the course of the programme, the Defence News said, but it was ousted by the US last July after accepting the S-400 air defense system from Russia.

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