An Idea, "Wet Lease the F-35 To Turkey"

The US and Turkey have found themselves in a diplomatic conundrum. If Turkey buys the S-400 missile system the US cancels the F-35 from Turkey, thus diminishing the American footprint in the region and so forth.

However, wet leashing the F-35 may protect the F-35 in Turkey when certain conditions are met. A wet lease is taking equipment in without a purchase and it requires the equipment leashed to be fully manned or staffed for its operations by the lessor, or in this case the US.

Turkey gets its 100 F-35's while the US maintains its property out of the country but in Turkish airspace. A wet lease is defined as:

"Wet lease. A wet lease is a leasing arrangement whereby one airline (the lessor) provides an aircraft, complete crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI) to another airline or other type of business acting as a broker of air travel (the lessee), which pays by hours operated.

However, a military term could be written-in, by having the lessor, maintaining complete control of the property while under the military control of the lessee, Every time an F-35 flies and is painted by an S-400 missile system suggest a study is being conducted on the F-35, the US could "deactivate" such a system since it is an implied a threat to wet-leased F-35's

Harsh yes, but the reality is demonstrated how vulnerable program secrets are held while the lessor insures its "proprietary secrets". In this case, Turkey has the F-35 asset but can not expose its secrets while defending Turkeys airspace in peacetime and is allowed to strategically protect its region in wartime The lessor through a "wet lease" protects and manages the asset against loss of its advanced secrets. Who would man the F-35? Why the US military as it would supply the crew for such an endeavor as NATO partner. Practical No! and that is the point of the s-400 missile system. It is consistent with Turkey's prior treaty commitment with NATO.

A wet lease suggestion points how ridiculous is Turkey's buy of the S-400 missile system from Russia. It is falling from any sound decision making and all that is left to fall is Erdogan's pride.