U.S.-Turkey Standoff Over F-35 Escalates As Each Side Waits For The Other To Blink

The U.S. has suspended the delivery of parts and program materials to Turkey that it needs for standing up a key $12 billion jet fighter program there. The U.S. Defense Department says deliveries will not resume unless Ankara abandons its planned acquisition of a Russian missile defense system.

It's the latest slap in an escalating showdown between two longtime NATO allies whose ties have become increasingly strained in recent years.

At issue are two big arms deals being pursued by Ankara. Turkey wants to buy 100 F-35s, Lockheed Martin Corp.'s latest generation of stealth jet fighters. Turkey also intends to install Russia's advanced S-400 air-defense missile system.

U.S. officials have told Turkey that it cannot have both.

The S-400, they say, is designed to detect and shoot down stealth fighters like the F-35. Planting that air-defense system on Turkish soil could, by means of its powerful radar, help Moscow discover the secrets — and the vulnerabilities — of the F-35s that Turkey intends to acquire.

The Trump administration tried enticing Turkey to scrap its reported $2.5 billion deal with Moscow by making a counteroffer: In January, U.S. officials let Ankara know it could buy Raytheon's $3.5 billion Patriot surface-to-air missile system at a discount valid until the end of March.