FINE BY ME: Turkey said to eye Russian Su-57 after US threatens to ban sale of F-35.

Turkish officials have warned that they will take retaliatory measures if Washington doesn’t fulfill orders of the stealth fighter, the first deliveries of which are expected in June, Ankara is reportedly in talks with Russia to prepare a backup option.

Yeni Safak news is reporting that Turkish officials have begun discussions about the possibility of purchasing Russia’s stealth, fifth-generation SU-57 fighter jet, should Washington renege on the F-35 deliveries. The report did not specify the level of the discussion and Ankara has yet to comment officially on the matter.

The SU-57 is still under development with the first deliveries to the Russian Air Force not expected until 2019.

Since Erdogan seems determined to align his country away from NATO and towards Moscow, perhaps he should be made to make do with Russian gear — which, starting in the First Gulf War, has failed spectacularly every time it has come up against Western troops.