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Alexander Mikheev, CEO of Rosoboronexport announced that the second contract for the equipment of Turkey with anti-aircraft missile systems “Triumph S-400” will be signed in 2021. More specifically, he told reporters: “In the near future, that is, this year, we expect that the second S-400 contract for Turkey will be signed.”
In late 2017, the president of Turkey and Russian officials signed a US$2.5 billion agreement for the delivery of the S-400 air defence system units.
The US Secretary of State raised concerns over the deal, but President Erdogan and other Turkish officials rejected the US threat of sanctions, citing that the US refused to sell the upgraded MIM-104 Patriot to Turkey. Turkey received its first instalment of the Russian S-400 missile defense system on 12 July 2019.
The US threatened Turkey with CAATSA sanctions and on 17 July suspended Turkey from the F-35 program, stating “F-35 cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence-collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities”. As of 2020, 4 batteries consisting of 36 fire units, and 192+ missiles were delivered to Turkey.
Mikheev said that the Russian Federation had signed about 20 contracts worth more than 2 billion euros in the “Army-2021” forum. Mikheev noted that the Rosoboronexport delegation met and negotiated with representatives of 35 countries, 17 of which were at the level of defense ministers, deputies, chiefs of staff and advisers to heads of state.
So far, the S-400 systems have been acquired by Turkish and Chinese forces, while the delivery process is expected to begin in India by the end of the year.
