So, this is a fun wrinkle: the number two republican in the senate wants to add an amendment to the NDAA that would allow the US to buy Turkey's Russian-made S-400 system. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/06/29/us-could-buy-turkeys-russia-made-s-400-under-senate-proposal/?utm_campaign=Socialflow+DFN&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com

The US forced Turkey out of the #f35 program because it bought the S400. The Russian-made system is a major sticking point in US-Turkish relations. Buying Turkey's S400 would give Erdogen a way to recoup those costs and potentially get back into the F35 program...

Buuuuuut: would Turkey do that? I'm very skeptical. Doing so would potentially cause a bigger rift with Russia. And there may well be legal things on Ankara's contract that would prevent them reselling the S400.

So this is probably all smoke, even assuming the amendment makes it onto the SASC NDAA and survives reconciliation with the House version. But, it's interesting nontheless.

Personally interested in why this is coming from Thune, who isn't a defense guy, whose South Dakota isn't a big F35 state, and who doesn't seem to have many ties to Turkey.