Turkey prepares to receive new S-400 components from Russia
Russia has dispatched the components of a second S-400 anti-aircraft missile battery to Turkey. The cargo was expected to arrive by Tuesday, August 27, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported on Monday, citing Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. The first batch of components arrived in Turkey on July 12.
Turkey’s decision to buy the Russian aerial defense system has resulted in serious disagreements between Ankara and Washington. The US is afraid that if Turkey uses the Russian anti-aircraft system and American F-35 fighters at the same time, the Kremlin will gain access to NATO secrets.
Since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ignored Washington’s warnings and threats and went through with the $2.5 billion S-400 deal, the US has excluded its NATO partner from the F-35 development program. However, Washington has not yet imposed any sanctions on Turkey in this regard.
Turkey is the only member state of the North Atlantic Alliance which intends to use this missile system.
The S-400 “Triumph” is an aerial defense system with a maximum range of 400 km that was adopted into Russia’s armament in 2007. The systems are mobile and consist of a control station with detection equipment and several missile batteries, each of which contains up to 12 launchers. In recent years, the systems have been adopted by increasing numbers of Russian combat units, including those in annexed Crimea and Kaliningrad.
Turkish President Erdogan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday and attended the MAKS 2019 Air Show with him. Among other things, the presidents discussed the conflict in Syria.