Turkey's S-400 systems to be ready for combat by spring: Russia

Duvar English

The S-400 missile defense systems will be operated by the Turkish army no later than the spring of 2020, Dmitry Shugaev, director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, has said.

Speaking to reporters at an exhibition in Dubai on Nov. 17, Shugaev said that the training of Turkish specialists will be complete by the end of 2019.

"The contract for the S-400 for Turkey is carried out normally. By the end of the year, we will complete the training of Turkish specialists. By spring, the system will be on combat duty. Everything is going according to plan," Sputnik cited Shugaev as saying.

Russia will provide technical assistance to Turkey in developing a 5th generation fighter jet, Shugaev added.

Earlier, the head of the Turkish Defense Industry Directorate, İsmail Demir, said that Turkey purchased S-400 missile defense systems from Russia to make use of them, not just store them away.

Shugaev noted that Russia "has plenty to offer our Turkish partners in the military-technical field in terms of developing different systems."

"They also have a lot of experience. We can help significantly," he said.

Deliveries of the latest Russian S-400 air defense systems, which caused a crisis in relations between Turkey and the United States, began in mid-July.

According to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the S-400 will be fully operational in April 2020.

Washington demanded that Turkey abandon the deal and instead acquire the American Patriot systems, threatening to delay or even cancel the sale of the latest F-35 fighters to Turkey, as well as impose sanctions in accordance with CAATSA (Law on Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions). Ankara refused to make concessions.