II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 922 

To limit the transfer of F–35 aircraft to Turkey. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 28, 2019 

Mr. LANKFORD (for himself, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. 

TILLIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To limit the transfer of F–35 aircraft to Turkey. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting NATO 

5 Skies Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON TRANSFER OF F–35 AIRCRAFT TO 

7 TURKEY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under sub9 section (b), no funds may be obligated or expended— 


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1 (1) to transfer, facilitate the transfer, or au2 thorize the transfer of, an F–35 aircraft to the Re3 public of Turkey; 

4 (2) to transfer intellectual property or technical 

5 data necessary for or related to any maintenance or 

6 support of the F–35 aircraft; or 

7 (3) to construct a storage facility for, or other8 wise facilitate the storage in Turkey of, an F–35 air9 craft transferred to Turkey. 

10 (b) EXCEPTION.—The President may waive the limi11 tation under subsection (a) upon a written certification to 

12 Congress that the Government of Turkey does not plan 

13 or intend to accept delivery of the S–400 air defense sys14 tem. 

15 (c) TRANSFER DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

16 ‘‘transfer’’ includes the physical relocation outside of the 

17 continental United States. 

18 (d) APPLICABILITY.—The limitation under sub19 section (a) does not apply to F–35 aircraft operated by 

20 the United States Armed Forces. 

21 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON PURCHASE BY TURKEY 

22 OF S–400 AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM. 

23 (a) It is the sense of the Senate that, if the Govern24 ment of Turkey purchases the S–400 air defense system 

25 from the Russian Federation— 


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1 (1) such a purchase would constitute a signifi2 cant transaction within the meaning of section 

3 231(a) of the Countering Russian Influence in Eu4 rope and Eurasia Act of 2017 (title II of Public Law 

5 115–44; 22 U.S.C. 9525(a)); 

6 (2) such a purchase would endanger the integ7 rity of the NATO alliance; 

8 (3) such a purchase would adversely affect on9 going operations of the United States Armed Forces, 

10 including coalition operations in which the United 

11 States Armed Forces participate; 

12 (4) such a purchase would result in a signifi13 cant impact to defense cooperation between the 

14 United States and Turkey; 

15 (5) such a purchase would significantly increase 

16 the risk of compromising United States defense sys17 tems and operational capabilities; and 

18 (6) the President should faithfully execute the 

19 Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eur20 asia Act of 2017 by imposing and applying sanctions 

21 under section 235 of that Act (22 U.S.C. 9529) with 

22 respect to any individual or entity determined to 

23 have engaged in such significant transaction as if 


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1 such person were a sanctioned person for purposes 

2 of such section. 

Æ 


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