One of the biggest reasons why F-35 military aircraft have not started full-scale production is military exercises, which have been postponed since 2017.

Axar.az reports that the statement came from Turkish military expert Anil Shahin.

"The plane must pass these tests so that users can say 'yes' to mass production. However, due to both material and technical problems, as well as the COVID-19 epidemic, the tests have been postponed for about four years," Shahin said.

The Pentagon said the F-35 had about 900 defects that negatively affected its combat readiness.