TASS: a contract was signed for the supply of the second S-400 regiment to Turkey

Russia and Turkey have signed a contract to supply Ankara with a second regiment of S-400 anti-aircraft systems, TASS reports citing the head of the Russian agency for military cooperation.

Russian state news agency TASS reported today that Russia and Turkey signed a contract to supply Ankara with a second regiment of S-400 anti-aircraft systems, but a Turkish defense official immediately disputed this information.

TASS quotes the head of the Russian agency for military cooperation, Dmitry Sugaev, as saying: “I want to note that the corresponding contract has already been signed. It includes the localization of the production of some components of the system.”

Turkey’s acquisition of the Russian system in 2020 S-400 angered the United States, a NATO ally, which imposed sanctions against Ankara. Today, however, a Turkish official stated that “no new agreements“. “The initial contract signed with Russia for the acquisition of the S-400 already included two batches. The purchase of the second batch was included in the initial planning and the corresponding contract– he said – so we do not have specific events that would be worth reporting. The process is ongoing and there are no new agreements.”

Any new defense deal between Russia and Turkey will draw a strong backlash in Washington as it tries to isolate Moscow and at the same time keep NATO united in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Turkey and Russia signed the first deal in December 2017 for the supply of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile batteries, in the amount of about $ 2.5 billion. The first deliveries of the system were carried out in July 2019. In response to this, the United States in December 2020 imposed sanctions against the Turkish defense industry and excluded Ankara from the program for the production and purchase of F-35 fighters.

The Russian S-400 Triumph (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is the latest long- and medium-range anti-aircraft missile system. It is designed to destroy strategic and tactical aircraft (including stealth aircraft), and can also destroy any other air targets in conditions of heavy fire and electronic countermeasures.

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