Yes, the already transacted Turkish payment is an issue and frankly, I hope that the US approves the F-16V to Türkiye ASAP. If not through F-16Vs, I hope they repay Tureky for the amount they've paid for their F-35s in other ways. I also wish that Türkiye would be able to solve the S-400 issue some way, which I know would be very hard to get done.
On the other hand, all these "would've"s and "could've"s are getting too far on this thread. Remember folks, we are on a military forum not some conspiracy theory bs. Apart from what you guys perceive, all evidences suggests that US was still going to supply F-35s to Turkey until S-400 happened. Turkey was a JSF partner (and to be honest, they would have denied Turkish membership in the first place if what some of you guys are trying to argue are true), was part of the supply chain, was getting its F-35s manufactured, had its pilots getting trained in the US for the F-35. Some of you come up with Egypt and India but that's also a poor example since US clearly is not interested in selling F-35s to those countries, especially India, despite their known interests towards that plane and the size of the program(110+ aircrafts).
The implementation of the CAATSA law has nothing to do with the possible sale of the F35 to any country. The two issues are separate. There is no provision in the CaATSA law that will only be applied to potential F35 customers. If America's adversaries are to be fought, this should apply equally to every country. otherwise it would be hypocrisy and biased. If caatsa is activated when Turkiye buys S400, if it is not implemented when India buys S400, this hypocrisy cannot be explained with logic.
Turkiye's problems with America are not one and date back to much earlier than the S400. Ignoring all these problems and connecting the issue only to the S400 means not being able to read geopolitical developments and being completely disconnected from the region's agenda. If the S400 issue were that important, India would also be affected by the American's counterine America's enemy law.
On top of that, it would be meaningless to describe what was mentioned as "conspiracy theory". There are differences between the perception of Turkiye in the West and the role assigned to Turkiye at the time when Turkiye became a partner in f35 and what is happening now.
At that time, Turkiye was a country that was obedient to the Atlantic interests and served US/NATO interests at the same time even if it harms Turkish interests because At that time, Turkey's range of action was very limited and it had to make purchases completely indexed to the West. There was no other port that Turkiye could rely on in case of the slightest disruption because PKK poses a serious threat to the existance of Turkish Republic in SE and We have many problems with Greece so we need external help in all problems so they were incapable of producing free policy and had to desperately seek western support in all problems. As a result of this Atlantic interest based policies, Our leaders were sent to other countries in the Middle East and recommended by US to be a role model and made speeches in their parliaments. After the US-Iraq war, there was a Turkiye whose cross-border operations were subject to US permission and could fight the PKK with weapons that the US and the West allowed to be sold within its borders and was being happy when US provided a few intel about terrorists position. The US, on the other hand, supported Turkiye's EU membership at that time and as our "strategic ally", America saw Turkiye as the most loyal base and market in the region. Therefore, although Turkiye was a good boy who could buy what the US allowed and did not have the right to raise his voice because of what they didn't allow, it was in the position of a country that was patted on the back in regional issues so Being accepted into the F35 partnership, even at level 3, was such a blessing back then but Now the situation has become much more different and complicated because there have been very ugly policies Because there is a Turkiye at present that refuses to obey the two-faced policy of the West and does not accept practices that openly threaten Turkiye's interests in Turkish seas and our Southern border.
At that time, the American helicopters sending aid to the PKK was described as a conspiracy theory among public While the PKK is shedding the blood of the Turkish nation, but today, the US together with the PKK, YPG is showing flag against Turkish border in live broadcasts and 1 day later, Turkiye can bombard and raze the base where American soldiers met with the YPG. US is extending its condolences for the terrorist leaders killed by Turkiye. Despite America's threats, there is a Turkiye at present that is able to organize multiple operations in Syria, and we got embargo from our 'allies' in return for eliminating the terrorists. Likewise, there are American presidents who threaten to destroy our economy. We are talking about a country that has the terrorist leader and his supporters who staged a coup in Turkiye make propaganda freely in US and granted citizenship as well. How can a country get any worse? If you're looking for a reason to crack the F35 project, the s400 will probably come last.
By the way, the embargo examples I mentioned above are completely real and all lived issues. Of course, it is not an easy situation to understand Turkish-American relations without looking deeply. There is an equation with many unknowns in the middle and there are serious prejudices and past experiences against the other illegal actions US implemented and actors that America used to shape the region. Making beautifications without taking all these into account will lead people to a completely wrong conclusion.
