A US senate majority blocks F-35 stealth planes to Turkey

A the last minute, by a large majority of 85 to 10, the US Senate blocked the sale of the advanced US F-35 stealth planes to Turkey until a detailed plan is presented to prove that Ankara would not have access to US technology for its home manufacture of components. This was one of Turkey’s conditions for purchasing 100 F-35 planes in a $10bn deal. First deliveries were due on June 21. A compelling argument against the sale was Turkey’s decision to buy sophisticated Russian S-400 air defense missile systems.