S-400 purchase will restrict Turkey's access to NATO technology, US official says
Turkey's access to NATO technology will be restricted if it acquires Russian S-400 air defense system as the current system is not "interoperable" with Russian missiles, a senior U.S. Air Force official said Thursday, according to Daily Sabah
Speaking to Defense News, Heidi Grant, the deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for international affairs, said the U.S might consider additional action over Turkey's ability to purchase and operate F-35 jets.
Without elaborating on the steps U.S. is planning to take, Grant said: "As a major NATO ally, we haven't really looked into this yet. We're going to have to start looking at, if they are going to go through with this, how we can be interoperable in the future. But right now, I can tell you our policies do not allow us to be interoperable with that system."
The source reminds that last week, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said Turkey has "completed" the purchase of the S-400 air-defense system from Russia as the Russian side confirmed the down payment has been made to purchase the system.
As a NATO member country, Turkey's decision to buy Russian S-400 systems has raised concern among other NATO member countries, but NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg ended speculations on Sep. 19 when he said member states have the sovereign right to make decisions regarding their military purchases.