Pentagon spokesman Mike Andrews said that Turkey will receive its first F-35 fighters on Thursday during a ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas, despite opposition from the US Congress.
"Lockheed Martin will hold a rollout ceremony for Turkey this Thursday in Fort Worth, and the two jets will follow-on to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona at a later date," CNN cited the spokesman as saying.
"Turkish F-35 pilots and maintainers have arrived at Luke Air Force Base and will begin flight academics soon," Andrews added.
Andrews said the Department of Defense "does not comment on proposed legislation," adding that "Turkey is a close, key NATO ally, and has been an international participant with the F-35 program since 2002."
On June 18, the US Senate had sought to block Turkey from receiving the stealth warplanes through language in the National Defense Authorization Act amid a deterioration of the US-Turkey relationship.
