Mattis Urges Congress Not to Hit Turkey With Lockheed F-35 Ban
- He says barring fighter sales risks ‘supply-chain disruption’
- Defense secretary calls for separating disputes with Erdogan
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Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has warned Congress against punishing Turkey for its plans to buy a Russian anti-aircraft system by cutting off transfers of Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 jet.
“At this time, I oppose removal of Turkey from the F-35,” Mattis wrote in a previously undisclosed letter this month to lawmakers negotiating fiscal 2019 defense bills. He said a cutoff risks triggering an international “supply chain disruption” that would drive up costs and delay deliveries of the fighter.