Trump says 'not fair' that U.S. can't sell F-35s to Turkey

The vocabulary and linguistic talents of a fourth grader. It's not fair! Hilarious. What an imbecile.

Trump said, lamenting the jobs that would be lost.

Trump and his supporters know that what's good for the military-industrial complex is, sadly, good for the economy.

Trump and his supporters also know the solid economy inherited from President Obama (and trumped up by Trump's federal interventions in the market place while reducing environmental, consumer and worker protections for the benefit of corporatocracy) is the main (sole?) positive they can point to in defending the travesty that is the Trump administration.

Trump's the best thing that's happened to the military-industrial complex. No wonder he keeps appointing execs from the biggest of the big war industries to his staff. Has anyone seen his latest tax info to find out how much he's invested in big war corporations?

It looks like Turkey wants to have its cake and eat it too.

No, Turkey has to choose between one or the other. Money is nice but it's not everything.

"Washington's concern is that deploying the S-400 with the F-35 would allow Russia to gain too much inside information of the stealth system."

Exactly.

"I would say that (F-35 manufacturer) Lockheed is not exactly happy."

Good. Then Lockheed will have more time and effort to spend on the quality and safety of their commercial airliners.

Tough choice - want the money, or compromise the F-35 stealth and by extension US defense and security

compromise the F-35 stealth and by extension US defense and security

You spelled "US war and attack potential" wrong.

Washington's concern is that deploying the S-400 with the F-35 would allow Russia to gain too much inside information of the stealth system.

Oh, so that's his motivation.

He really is clueless.

I'll say that's the most intelligent thing he has said for some time. While I'm sure you can get pundits to argue re the relative technical merits of the S-400 vs Patriot, for Turkey to choose the S-400 in the face an angry US suggests they are not even close.

As for the idea that the Russians may be able to detect F-35s better by analyzing data from Turkey ... well, you are getting a lot of information about the S-400 too. In fact, it might be a good idea to see where the line stabilizes after both sides get a bit of practice and foreknowledge in, so the real airstrikes can be plotted around that rather than around this optimistic curve made on the basis that "If the Russians don't know about us, they can't see us" ... and then maybe they can after all.

There is one possibility, and it is that the Russian S-400 really is almost as good as the Russians brag it is, and the F-35s really would be very visible. But even then, it would be nice for everyone to know that, rather than for anyone to make strike plans on the basis or hopes they are invisible when they actually aren't, so they get shot down like turkeys.

While I'm sure you can get pundits to argue re the relative technical merits of the S-400 vs Patriot, for Turkey to choose the S-400 in the face an angry US suggests they are not even close

Turkey actually has been asking for the US Patriot System for years - but the Pentagon stalled all that time trying to decide whether to sell it to Turkey or not. The key issue is that Turkey wants a technology-sharing pact along with the purchase.

After awhile, Turkey couldn't wait no longer, and they got that technology-sharing pact demand from Russia, so they went with the S-400 purchase.

Even now, Turkey still wants the Patriot system. But the Pentagon is reticent about the transfer of technology, while Russia is more amenable to it. Other countries getting the S-400 like India will also get that transfer of Russian technology.

stormcrow: Lockheed doesn't make commercial airliners and hasn't since the 1970s. The L-1011 was their last.

Lockheed doesn't have a say in this. The military should have the final say.