US Worried About Allies Buying S-400s Because It Might Detect F-35 Stealth Jets, Media Claims

The US fears that its stealth jets are visible to the S-400s, a suspicion that may be behind Washington’s efforts to dissuade allies and partners from buying the Russian missile systems, The National Interest, an online media outlet, alleged.

The National Interest indicated that the F-22 and the F-35 fighter jet, as well as the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, rely on speed and ability to rapidly enter and exit air defence radar zones. However, as the outlet points out, the S-400s have become increasingly advanced as they now communicate their radar data in real-time.

According to The National Interest online website, this feature might allow the S-400 to negate the US jets’ advantage to give the Russian weapon the ability to effectively track and shoot down American stealth fighters.

The online outlet posted a story suggesting that this feature of S-400, which Moscow has long advertised, might be behind the Pentagon’s recent efforts to convince India to abandon its reported plans to buy the Russian air defence missile system. It would also explain why Washington slapped sanctions against its NATO ally – Turkey – after the latter refused to ditch the S-400s it had bought.

How Washington Opposes World-Wide S-400 Sales

The US claimed at the time that the motive for sanctions and the freezing of F-35 sales to Ankara was the incompatibility of the Russian weapons to the NATO defence grid. Later, Washington alleged that Moscow can obtain critical information about F-35s via S-400s deployed in Turkey, but refused to work with Ankara to prevent the potential vulnerability. More recently, the White House has blamed Turkey for purportedly not acting as a “US ally” by making the sovereign decision to buy S-400s from Russia.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed White House criticism of his government’s deal with Moscow and repeatedly reminded Washington how Ankara unsuccessfully tried to procure Patriot missile systems from the US for years. He explained that Turkey had no other choice than to look elsewhere to boost its national security. He rejected all US attempts to meddle in the country’s sovereign affairs and suggested the creation of a working group to reach a compromise on the issue instead. The proposal, however, has been so far been ignored by the US.