Pentagon will halt manufacturing support for the F-35 fighter jets, if Turkey purchases S 400 missile defense system, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters on Friday.

Shanahan said he had met with the leadership of U.S. aerospace manufacturers Lockheed Martin and United Technologies to discuss moving Turkey out of F-35 project, Pentagon website reported.

“If Turkey decides that the S-400 is a decision they want to go forward with, then we have to move work out of Turkey,” he said.

Shanahan recalled that Turkey remains a strategic partner of the United States.

“Now, S-400s and F-35s don't go together,” he emphasized.