The cost of the program is the creation of the American fifth generation fighter F-35 Lightning II after exclusion of Turkish contractors to grow by $ 600 million and additionally will lead to inflated prices on each such plane for 7-9 million dollars, the newspaper Milliyet, the head of the Secretariat of the defense industry of Turkey Ismail Demira.
Also, the official assured that the Turkish side will keep secret from US data regarding the anti-aircraft missile system s-400 “Triumph”, purchased from Russia, and, on the contrary, will not allow any leaks regarding the F-35 Lightning II, the last.
Demir noted that the American approach to the problem is, “they [the American side] know the risk [of a leak in Russia], they are 100 percent sure, they believe in”. “But they don’t try to convince us. They do not need. They don’t want to work with us to convince us [the existence of such a risk],” said the head of the Secretariat.
In July, in an interview with Aviation Week & Space Technology Matthew Bromberg, President and chief Executive officer of the American Military Engines Pratt & Whitney, has developed and produces the engine for the F-35 Lightning II, said that by 2023, the company eventually start supplying 188 elements of the power unit F135, which involved Turkey.
In the same month, former Deputy commander of the air defense forces Land forces of the USSR the General-Lieutenant Alexander Luzan admitted that the purpose of software testing Turkey With-400 “Triumph” is the search for the “weaknesses” of the system. The doctor said that from the s-400 “Triumph” it is technically impossible to extract technology.
In January the portal Flight Global, citing the statement of the representative of the American Corporation Lockheed Martin, the head developer and the manufacturer of the F-35 Lightning II, announced that the price of one F-35 Lightning II fell to a historically low level at 77.9 million dollars, and a threat to the sales of fighter jets is the high cost per flight hour, component 35 thousand dollars.
