mo4ch:>Purchase of S-400 systems will be ‘devastating’ for Turkey’s F-35 program – Pentagon | Mo4ch News

Turkey’s planned deployment of Russian S-400 missile defense systems would be “devastating” for the F-35 program to which Ankara has contributed over $1 billion, the Pentagon has warned.“Completion of this transaction would be devastating, not only to the F-35 program, on which the West has placed its modernized integrated air capability, but it would potentially rupture Turkish interoperability with NATO, a key aspect of the defense of the alliance,” said Kathryn Wheelbarger, acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs.Washington must not allow the $2.5 billion deal between Turkey and Russia to proceed, she told an audience at the Atlantic Council in Washington on Thursday, hinting that Russia cannot wait to get their hands on American secrets.“Let’s be clear. The S-400 is a Russian system designed to shoot down an aircraft like the F-35, and it is inconceivable to imagine Russia not taking advantage of that collection opportunity,” she warned.Also on rt.…