MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/: Ankara expects the second S-400 squadron to be delivered to Turkey in August or September, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Monday, as cited by the Hurriyet newspaper.
"The second S-400 squadron is expected to be delivered in August or September," he said. According to Akar, "since the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty has been terminated, Turkey will have an increasing need for the S-400 systems."
The Turkish defense minister added that during recent talks, the United States had offered a new deal to Ankara. However, he did not provide any details.
S-400 deal
News about Russian-Turkish talks on the delivery of the S-400 systems first came in November 2016. Russia’s Rostec State Corporation Sergei Chemezov said in December 2017 that the deal was worth $2.5 bln.
The Turkish Defense Ministry announced the beginning of the S-400 deliveries on July 12.
The US said that the S-400 purchase made it impossible for Ankara to continue participating in the F-35 program, while NATO refused to plug Turkey’s S-400 into the Alliance’s air defense systems.
The S-400 Triumf (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is the most advanced long-range anti-aircraft missile system that went into service in 2007. It is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range ones, and can also be used against ground objectives. The S-400 system can engage targets at a distance of 400 km and at an altitude of up to 35 km.
