Turkey is ready to purchase from Russia a second set of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM), subject to technology transfer. This was announced on Monday, January 11, by the head of the Department of Defense Industry (UOP) of the republic Ismail Demir.
“If we wanted, the second set of S-400 would have arrived today, but joint production and technology transfer are important to us,” CNN Turk TV channel quotes Demir as saying.
Demir added that Turkey does not see the risk of buying a second set of S-400 systems from Russia “so far no additional sanctions have been taken by the United States.”
Earlier that day, the head of the Turkish Defense Industry Department said that the Russian S-400 air defense systems are ready for commissioning. The country’s armed forces will make a decision when the need arises.
Deliveries of Russian S-400 air defense systems to Ankara began in mid-June 2019, which led to a crisis in relations between Turkey and the United States. The American administration has repeatedly condemned the acquisition of Russian weapons by the NATO country and insisted on the purchase by Turkey of systems produced in the United States. At the same time, the United States excluded Turkey from the joint program for the production of F-35 fighters and imposed sanctions on Turkish officials and institutions responsible for the purchase of the S-400. Ankara stated that it will not succumb to the sanctions pressure from Washington and did not abandon the S-400.
On December 30, 2020, Turkey and the United States agreed to create a working group due to the purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system by the Turkish side and began technical negotiations.
The S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile system can destroy modern air attack targets, including ballistic missiles. The detection range is up to 600 km, the radius of the cover zone is 400 km.