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, 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.
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.