ANKARA (Reuters) — Turkey has hired a Washington-based law firm to lobby for its readmission to the US F-35 fighter jet program after it was suspended over its purchase of Russian air defenses, a contract filed with the US Department of Justice showed.
Ankara had ordered more than 100 stealth fighters and has been making parts for their production, but was removed from the program in 2019 after it bought the Russian S-400 missile defense systems, which Washington says threaten the F-35s.
It has now hired law firm Arnold & Porter for “strategic advice and outreach” to US authorities, in a six-month contract worth $750,000 which started this month.
Ankara has said its removal from the program was unjust, and President Tayyip Erdogan has said he hopes for positive developments under US President Joe Biden.
The contract was signed with Ankara-based SSTEK Defense Industry Technologies, owned by the Turkish Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), Ankara’s main defense industry authority.
Arnold & Porter will “advise on a strategy for the SSB and Turkish contractors to remain within the Joint Strike Fighter Program, taking into consideration and addressing the complex geopolitical and commercial factors at play,” the contract said.