US Senate votes to block F-35 deal to Turkey

US senators voted overwhelmingly to block the sale of F-35 jet fighters to Turkey on Monday, while Lockheed Martin says it expects to deliver planes before the bill could become law.

Relations between US and NATO-ally Turkey have recently gone through a rough patch, made worse by an October 2016 arrest of 50-year-old American pastor Andrew Brunson accused of espionage and supporting a terrorist organisation.

But US senators, who introduced a bipartisan bill to block the sale of F-35 jets to Turkey, said the transfer of sensitive F-35 technology and state-of-the-art capabilities was "increasingly risky" due to what they described as Turkish President Recep Erdogan's broad consolidation of power in that country.

"President Erdogan has continued down a path of reckless governance and disregard for the rule of law," said Republican Senator James Lankford in a...