January 21, 2020 - 14:57 AMT
Russia delivered 120 missiles for S-400s to Turkey: media

Russia has supplied more than 120 surface-to-air missiles to Turkey as per a delivery and acceptance act signed by Turkey and Russia in December, Russian news agency Tass reported on Monday, January 20, according to Ahval.

Turkey made a deal with Russia for the supply of S-400 missile defence systems back in 2017, and started to accept delivery of components for the system in July 2019.

The purchase and delivery led to a crisis with the United States and NATO, as the United States maintains the Russian-made weapons system is incompatible with the F-35 stealth fighter Turkey was involved in the manufacture of and poses a security risk to NATO defenses.

Russia has also delivered auxiliary equipment, spare parts and tools, the Russian news agency quoted the unnamed source as saying, but the contract with Turkey did not include at all any “technology transfer, even partial.”

Turkish Defence Industry Director İsmail Demir in December told reporters that Turkey would naturally use the experience obtained through the S-400 systems when developing its own system later, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said in June that Moscow’s S-400 deal with Ankara envisaged a partial handover of technologies.

Turkish Minister of National Defence Hulusi Akar last week said training and installation of the S-400s continued, and the system would reach full operational stage in April or May this year.