Bloomberg: Turkey stockpiles weapon parts in anticipation of US sanctions

Turkey has been stockpiling parts for F-16 fighter jets and other military hardware in anticipation of American sanctions, Bloomberg has reported, citing two Turkish officials familiar with their country’s defense strategy.

According to the report, it is unclear when the decision to start stockpiling American-made parts was taken, but Washington has been threatening sanctions since 2018, when Turkey made a deal with Russia for the acquisition of its S-400 missile defense system, which the US says is incompatible with Turkey's commitments as a NATO ally.

On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said delivery of the S-400 system is expected to take place “within 10 days.”

Apart from sanctions, American lawmakers have also threatened to cut Turkey off from the F-35 jet program by the end of the month if the deal goes through.