The United States formally removes Turkey from the F-35 programme

The White House announced Turkey's formal removal from the F-35 programme after Ankara received the first components of the Russian S-400 air defence system. Washington argued that operating the Russian radar alongside the stealth fighter would compromise its low-observable characteristics. Turkey had been an industrial partner since 2002, had ordered a hundred aircraft and made parts for the whole fleet, which had to be resourced to other suppliers.