ISTANBUL — The first shipment of a sophisticated Russian surface-to-air missile system arrived in Turkey on Friday, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced, a process that is expected to incur United States sanctions and will test the NATO alliance.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been insistent in his determination to purchase the S-400 system, Russia’s most advanced antiaircraft weaponry, despite warnings from the United States. Washington has warned that the deal will lead to economic penalties against Turkey, a fellow NATO member, and cancellation of Turkey’s purchase of American F-35 fighter jets.

The United States has been unyielding in its opposition to Turkey’s acquisition of the S-400. American officials have argued that the missile system is incompatible with NATO equipment, and that having Turkey operating both the Russian weapons and the F-35 could give Russia access to the American jets’ secret stealth technology.

Mr. Erdogan has pursued the missile system despite American warnings and the damage that sanctions would do to his country’s already suffering economy. Speaking last month, he warned the United States not to risk a larger fissure in ties with Turkey over the missile system, and seemed optimistic that his country would not face any kind of financial penalty from the Americans. </s> Turkey gets first shipment of S-400 air defence systems

Ankara, July 12: The first shipment of a Russian missile defence system has arrived in Turkey, the Turkish Defence Ministry said Friday, moving the country closer to possible US sanctions and a new standoff with Washington. A Defence Ministry statement said "the first group of equipment" of the S-400 air defence systems has reached an air base near the capital, Ankara.

The U.S. has strongly urged NATO member Turkey to pull back from the deal - reportedly costing more than USD 2 billion - warning the country that it will face economic sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act if it goes ahead with the purchase. It has also said Turkey won't be allowed to participate in the program to produce high-tech F-35 fighter jets. The US has repeatedly said that the Russian system is incompatible with NATO systems and is a threat to the F-35. Sanctions would mark a new low in the already-tense relations between Turkey and the U.S.

Last year, the United States imposed sanctions on Turkey over its detention of an American pastor, triggering a Turkish currency crisis. The deal with Russia - the first such deal between Russia and a NATO member - has also raised concerns that Turkey is drifting closer to Moscow's sphere of influence. Turkey has refused to bow to US pressure, insisting that choosing which defence equipment to purchase is a matter of national sovereignty. </s> ISTANBUL: Turkey received the first batch of Russia 's S-400 missile defence system on Friday, the defence ministry said, despite repeated warnings from its NATO ally United States against the purchase."The delivery of the first shipment of parts of the S-400 long range regional air missile defence system began as of July 12, 2019 to Murted air base in Ankara ," the ministry said in a statement.The delivery, which was made by plane, is likely to escalate tensions with the US after Washington warned this week that there would be "real and negative" consequences if Ankara bought the Russian defence system.The US State Department has said that Turkish officials are fully aware of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, a law passed by Congress in 2017 that mandates sanctions for any "significant" purchases of weapons from Russia.Washington has threatened to remove Turkey from its F-35 fighter jet programme, giving Ankara until July 31 to cancel the S-400 purchase or have its pilots kicked off the training course and expelled from the US.But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after meeting US counterpart Donald Trump last month that he was confident Ankara would not face sanctions for buying the Russian missile system.Erdogan told Trump during their meeting on the margins of the G-20 meeting in Japan that former president Barack Obama did not allow Ankara to buy Patriot missiles -- an equivalent of the S-400s.Trump sounded convinced and said: "You can't do business that way. It's not good."The Turkish air force changed the name of the base in Ankara from Akinci to Murted after it was the centre of a 2016 failed coup attempt. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A demonstration of the S-400 missile system

Turkey has received the first parts of a Russian S-400 missile defence system despite opposition from the US.

The shipment arrived in an airbase in the capital Ankara on Friday, the Turkish defence ministry says.

The move will anger the US, which has warned that Turkey cannot have both the S-400 anti-aircraft defence system and US F-35 fighter jets.

Turkey and the US are Nato allies - but Turkey has also been establishing closer links with Russia.

A Nato official told the AFP news agency that the body was "concerned" about Turkey's acquisition.

What have both countries said?

Acting US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said on Friday that the US position had not changed.

Republican and Democratic leaders of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee called the Turkish action "a troubling signal of strategic alignment with Putin's Russia".

Mr Esper spoke with his Turkish counterpart for 30 minutes but a planned Pentagon briefing in response to the moves by Turkey was called off.

The Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said the two men had discussed the purchase of the S-400 missile system, but insisted that it did not mean a change of Turkey's strategic orientation.

Mr Akar said the pair also discussed a bid to acquire US Patriot air defence systems.

What's the argument about?

Turkey has signed up to buying 100 US F-35 warplanes and has invested heavily in the F-35 programme. Turkish companies produce 937 of the plane's parts.

But Turkey has also pursued an increasingly independent defence policy amid strained ties with the US and Europe. It has purchased Russia's advanced S-400 air defence system for $2.5bn and sent members of its armed forces to Russia for training.

US defence officials said the S-400 is incompatible with the wider Nato air-defence system in the region.

Image copyright Russian Ministry of Defence Image caption The Russian defence ministry has published footage of what it says are the first components of the system being delivered to Turkey

The officials said they did not want the F-35 jets to be near S-400 systems because they feared Russian technicians would be able to access the F-35's vulnerabilities.

The US warned that it would exclude Turkey from the F-35 programme if the S-400 deal went ahead, and warned that it could impose economic sanctions.

Turkey has argued that the two systems would be located in separate locations, and that the US was slow to offer an alternative missile defence shield.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after a meeting with US President Donald Trump that he believes the US will not impose sanctions.

This looks set to prompt a major rift between Washington and one of its key Nato allies. For an alliance member to buy this kind of equipment from Russia is almost unprecedented.

The US has already halted deliveries of the aircraft to Turkey and suspended the training of Turkish pilots.

Plans are also under way to remove Turkey from the programme altogether. It manufactures part of the F-35 and is due to be a regional hub for maintenance of the aircraft.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to believe that, whatever the Pentagon may say, Donald Trump himself is less hostile to the purchase of the Russian missiles.

A major test of ties between Ankara and Washington beckons.

How important is Turkey?

Turkey has the second-largest army in Nato, a 29-member military alliance.

It is one of the US's key allies, and is located in a strategic position, sharing borders with Syria, Iraq and Iran.

It has also played an important role in the Syria conflict, providing arms and military support to some rebel groups.

However, it has seen relations deteriorate with some Nato members and the EU, who have accused Mr Erdogan of adopting an increasingly authoritarian style following a failed coup in 2016.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nato explained in 80 seconds

How does the S-400 work? </s> Turkey on Friday (July 12) received first shipment of Russian S-400 missile defense system hardware from Russia, Turkish Defense Ministry announced.

“The first batch of equipment of S-400 missile defense system, which is procured to meet Turkey’s air and missile defense needs, has started to arrive at Murted Air Base in Ankara,” the ministry said in a statement.

The second Russian military transport aircraft carrying the S-400 missile systems will depart for Turkey soon, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

“The Russian Aerospace Force’s military transport aircraft carrying parts of a S-400 regiment set has arrived in Turkey. Another plane will soon deliver the second batch of equipment to the country,” TASS quoted a diplomatic source as saying. “The third batch, containing more than 120 guided missiles of various types, will be dispatched later by sea. It is expected to happen at the end of the summer,” the agency added.

Turkish S-400 operators plan to train Turkish military service members this month and in August, according to TASS. In May, about 20 Turkish service members underwent training at a Russian training center.

The S-400 Triumph, which became operational in 2007, is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range ones. The S-400 system can hit targets at a distance of round 250 miles and at an altitude up to around 22 miles.

The purchase sparked a row within NATO, with the US threatening sanctions against Turkey for buying the Russian-made military technology.

Specifically, the Pentagon fears that Russia will be able to spy on the US-made F-35, the latest generation fighter jet, once S-400 becomes part of Turkey’s defense network, according to German news agency Deutsche Welle. Earlier this year, the US suspended deliveries related to the F-35 and gave Turkey a deadline until the end of July to cancel the S-400 deal. If Ankara did not comply, Turkish pilots training to fly F-35 in the US would be expelled from the country.

US officials also pressured Turkey to buy the more expensive, US-made Patriot missiles instead.

“S-400 is at least twice as cheap as the US system Patriot-2,” UK military expert Richard Connolly at Birmingham University told DW’s Russian service.

“The Russians and before them the Soviet Union were always leading in missile technology,” he added. “The reason for that was that the Americans and the West produced better aircraft.”

Less than two weeks ago, Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that US President Donald Trump reassured him there will be no sanctions over buying the S-400s.

“We heard from him that there won’t be anything like this (sanctions),” Erdogan told a press conference in Osaka, Japan, following a meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

“It is out of the question that such a thing takes place between two strategic allies. I believe it cannot happen,” Erdogan said.

“By accepting delivery of the S-400 from Russia, President Erdogan has chosen a perilous partnership with Putin at the expense of Turkey’s security, economic prosperity and the integrity of the NATO alliance,” the Wall Street Journal reported a joint statement by Sens. Jim Risch (R., Idaho), Bob Menendez (D., N.J.), Jim Inhofe (R., Okla.) and Jack Reed (D., R.I.).

During a visit to NATO headquarters in Belgium late last month, acting Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said: “If Turkey accepts delivery of the S-400, they will not receive the F-35. It’s that simple.”

According to the UPI, Shanahan sent a letter on June 6 to Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar that Turkey would be pulled from the F-35 Lightning II jet program — including sales and the banning of Turkish contractors — unless Ankara decides not to go ahead with purchasing S-400.

The events in the coming weeks could determine the future of U.S.-Turkish relations, and raise questions about Turkey’s long-term role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as Russia attempts to build on its own influence in the country in a bid to weaken the alliance, the Wall Street Journal said adding:

“Turkey’s decision to source critical weapons from Russia is a setback for the U.S., which courted Ankara throughout the Cold War for its strategic location on the southwestern flank of the Soviet empire. It is also an economic issue. The U.S. and Russia are world’s biggest arms exporters and their contractors compete for dominance in the sector.”

“The S-400 issue has further roiled years of frayed U.S.-Turkey relations. U.S. officials still recall a key breaking point in 2003 when Turkish officials refused to allow U.S. troops to use Turkey as a launch pad for the invasion of Iraq. American presidents have tried repeatedly to reset relations with Turkey, only to hit new snags,” the Wall Street Journal argued and said:

“Former President Obama’s initial strong relationship with Mr. Erdogan was strained by the U.S. decision to arm and train Syrian Kurdish fighters in the battle against Islamic State that Turkey views as terrorists. The same issue has dogged relations between Messrs. Trump and Erdogan.

“The relationship also was strained by an American refusal to deport a U.S.-based cleric who Mr. Erdogan accuses of fomenting a failed coup in 2016 that led Mr. Erdogan to impose mass arrests and purges. The cleric, Fethullah Gulen, denies the accusation.

“Last summer, Washington imposed sanctions on Turkey when Ankara failed to release an American pastor who had been detained as part of the post-coup sweeps. Turkey eventually released the pastor, Andrew Brunson, and the U.S. partly lifted the sanctions, but the episode left scars, say U.S. diplomats.”

“For the political elite of both countries, for Erdogan and Putin, it became kind of a symbol of their resistance of Western hegemony,” Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, think tank in Moscow. “That’s why they try to peddle the deal by showing both the internal and external public…that surrender is not an option, Pukho was quoted by WSJ as saying.”

The S-400 reflects growing cooperation between Turkey and Russia, including construction of the Russia-financed Akkuyu nuclear power plant, Turkey’s first such facility, and the TurkStream natural-gas pipeline that runs from Russia to Turkey.

Making good on the delivery of the S-400s “shows the whole world that Russia is a reliable supplier,” Mr. Pukhov said. “Imagine: Turkey was a longstanding partner for F-35s, paid down-payments, and the United States refused to deliver.”

Deployed across Russia, from its Kaliningrad exclave in the Baltics to Vladivostok in the Far East, the S-400 has also become a successful export product. In addition to Turkey, Russia has sold the weapon to China and India. Saudi Arabia, one of the top buyers of U.S. military equipment, is in talks with Moscow over a possible S-400 purchase.

Russian state-owned holding conglomerate Rostec said earlier this year that as of late 2018 its arms export order book exceeded $51 billion, a record for the past 10 years, with S-400 supply contracts accounting for some of the largest deals.

“Turkish officials say closer ties with the Kremlin are compatible with NATO membership, and have expressed interest in not being entirely dependent on Russia for air-defense equipment. While taking delivery of the S-400, Turkey has been pursuing talks with France and Italy over the joint production of a rival European system. Industrial partners in the project are expected to submit a detailed study on how to divide workload in the autumn, according to European officials. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Friday that Ankara had not closed the door to buying Patriots from the U.S.,” the Wall Street Journal concluded.

Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America (www.journalofamerica.net) email: asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com </s> US to stop accepting Turkish pilots to train on F-35 jets over S-400 row: report

The delivery of the S-400 missile defense system to Turkey will begin within two months, the head of Russia's state-run defense company Rostec said Friday.

CEO Sergey Chemezov, speaking on the Russian NTV channel amid the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), said the delivery process of the S-400 system is proceeding as planned.

Chemezov said pre-payments have been received from Turkey on schedule and training has been completed.

"We will begin delivery of the S-400s to Turkey within two months," he said.

Turkey decided in 2017 to purchase the S-400 system following protracted efforts to purchase air defense systems from the U.S. with no success.

The S-400 missile defense system is Russia's most advanced long-range anti-aircraft missile system and can carry three types of missiles capable of destroying targets, including ballistic and cruise missiles.

The system can track and engage up to 300 targets at a time and has an altitude ceiling of 27 kilometers (17 miles).

With the purchase of the S-400s, Ankara aims to build Turkey's first long-range air and anti-missile defense system to guard against threats in the region. Moreover, Turkey seeks to build its own missile defense systems as the deal also involves the transfer of technology and know-how.

The S-400 system, which was introduced in 2007, is the new generation of Russian missile systems, and so far Russia has only sold them to China and India.

U.S. officials have advised Turkey to buy the Patriot missile system rather than the S-400 system from Moscow, arguing it is incompatible with NATO systems. Turkey has responded that it was the U.S.' refusal to sell it Patriots that led it to seek other sellers, adding Russia offered it a better deal, including technology transfers.

The two NATO allies have sparred publicly for months over the S-400s, which Washington says pose a threat to the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 stealthy fighters, which Turkey also plans to buy.

The United States says Turkey cannot have both, but had avoided taking steps to curtail or halt planned training of Turkish pilots in the program. </s> The United States has given Turkey a deadline of July 31 to reverse its purchase of a Russian missile-defense system or face the loss of subcontracting work on the U.S.-led F-35 fighter jet project.

 

 Ellen Lord, U.S. undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, also told reporters on June 8 that Turkish pilots training in the United States on F-35 warplanes being sold to Ankara will be expelled if the missile deal is not called off.

 

 She said the deadline "will allow sufficient time for Turkish personnel associated with the F-35 program to be reassigned and depart the United States...to facilitate an orderly cessation of Turkish participation."

 

 Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan sent a letter to his Turkish counterpart that explained the measures to remove Turkey from the program unless Ankara changes course.

 

 Washington and its allies consider Russia’s S-400 missile system to be incompatible with NATO systems and a threat to the F-35 fighter jets.

 

 The United States has urged Ankara to back off its purchase of the system and has turned up the heat as its delivery date has neared.

 

 President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said his country was "determined" to proceed with the Russia purchase, which he has long labeled a “done deal.”

 

 Turkey, a NATO ally of the United States, had already sent personnel to Russia to start training with the S-400. It also has at least two pilots training in the United States to fly the F-35 – of which Turkey has purchased 100 for its own military’s use.

 

 Turkey has spent billions to gear up its industry to participate in parts production related to the F-35s. Companies in the country make hundreds of parts for the warplane, largely for the aircraft's landing gear and center fuselage.

 

 Lord said Turkey's participation would be finished by early 2020 if it does not reverse the S-400 deal.

 

 "Turkey still has the option to change course," she said.

 

 "If Turkey does not accept delivery of the S-400, we will enable Turkey to return to normal," she said.

 

 The F-35s are designed to operate in sync and with NATO systems, including antimissile defenses, raising fears that Russia could adjust the S-400's capacities against the Western Alliance through information gathered in dealing with Turkey.

 

 U.S. officials have pressed Turkey to switch to the American-made Patriot air defense system, telling Ankara that would allow it to continue participation in the F-35 program.

 

 Erdogan said he told the United States that Ankara would consider buying Patriots only if Washington's conditions for a deal were as good as Moscow's offer.

 

 "But unfortunately we haven't received a positive proposal from the American side on the subject of Patriots like the S-400s from Russia," he said.

 

 Shanahan said he believed the U.S. offer for the Patriots was "very competitive."

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP </s> Turkish-American relations often are fraught with drama followed by reconciliation. At the end, the two countries usually manage to save their partnership by focusing on shared strategic interests. But in recent years, they have increasingly different threat perceptions and it is no longer possible to take the relationship for granted. Turkey’s military rapprochement with Russia is particularly troubling for Washington. Turkey’s insistence that it will go ahead with a Russian missile-defense system may very well prove a historic mistake with paradigm-shifting consequences. If Ankara goes ahead and takes delivery of the Russian S-400 system, it will not only have to forego delivery of American F-35 stealth fighter jets, but will also face severe military sanctions under a US law known as Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

The S-400s missile-defense system is due to be installed in October. But the Trump administration still hopes to change Ankara’s mind with the opportunity, instead, to buy a Nato-compatible missile-defense shield. That said, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government missed a “soft deadline” in mid-February set by the Americans to decide whether to buy the Patriot missile-defense system. The American offer is contingent upon Turkey cancelling its purchase of Russia’s S-400s, and expires with a hard deadline at the end of this month.

Without publicly rejecting the US proposal, President Erdogan has repeatedly said he will not pull out of the contract with Moscow. “The deal is done and there is no turning back,” he responded recently when questioned about the contract. “Nobody should ask us to lick up what we spat [out].” In defiance of Washington’s thinly veiled threat of sanctions, Erdogan further pointed out that his country may even seek to procure Russia’s next generation S-500 system.

The main concern of American policymakers is that Turkey’s operation of F-35 aircraft in range of the S-400s will compromise the advanced technology with which Nato’s frontline fighter is equipped. The Russian missile-defense system has a highly advanced radar capable of collecting electronic intelligence. Washington believes the S-400 system can covertly obtain critical information, such as the F-35’s detection range, and relay the data to Moscow. The Turkish response to American concerns is that Russian technicians will not be allowed to service the S-400s, and that the Russian system will not be plugged to Nato networks. Turkish security officials have also apparently assured their American counterparts that they will redesign the missile-defense system’s operating protocol to prevent any Russian intelligence gathering.

None of these assurances are convincing to Washington. The Pentagon remains highly concerned that sensitive information will eventually end up in Russian hands, no matter what measures Turkish authorities take. Nato’s supreme allied commander, Gen Curtis Scaparrotti, recently warned the US Senate Armed Services Committee about Turkey taking delivery of the S-400 in very blunt terms: “My best military advice would be that we don’t follow through with the F-35, because an ally that is working with Russian systems, particularly air-defense systems, is a problem for our most advanced technological capabilities.”

If Turkey insists on the Russian missile defense, the blocked transfer of F-35 jets will only be the first phase of Washington’s retaliation. More significant for the future of the military relations will be the imposition of sanctions that will undermine the entirety of US-Turkish defense cooperation. In other words, a myriad of Turkish projects that depend on US equipment and cooperation will be impacted with the sanctioning, under CAATSA, of several Turkish aerospace firms.

This looming crisis has paradigm-shifting potential because it clearly shows that the Turkish and American militaries no longer see each other as partners. Beyond defense procurement, the Turkish decision to buy Russian missile defense is symptomatic of a much larger geostrategic predicament: Washington and Ankara no longer share the same strategic interests and threat perceptions.

In the eyes of Ankara, Washington has partnered with Kurdish terrorists in Syria. And for Washington, Ankara is in bed with jihadist groups in the same country. Syria has turned into a nightmare for Turkish-American relations.

What’s more, both are actively engaged in working against each other. It is one thing to see things differently, but partnering with each other’s rivals has clearly created a radical mental shift in the way the two militaries contemplate each other.

For the United States, there is no bigger threat to the stability of Europe and the future of Nato than Russia. Ankara certainly knows this. But for Turkey’s strongman leader, there is no more ominous a threat to his regime’s survival than Fethullah Gulen – the religious leader Erdogan blames for instigating a failed coup against him – and Kurdish nationalism. Given Gulen’s continued presence in the United States and US support for Syrian Kurds, it is an open secret that Ankara now views Washington as an enemy.

Within this toxic environment, the US and Turkey are walking ever closer to the precipice. The S-400 deal and the cancelation of the F-35s could very well push them over. Instead of parsing the future of the Turkish-American strategic partnership, we may very soon be writing an obituary for their military relations. </s> "The delivery of parts belonging to the system will continue in the coming days," Turkey's Defense Industry Directorate said. "Once the system is completely ready, it will begin to be used in a way determined by the relevant authorities."

Russia has completed its first delivery of their S-400 missile system to Turkey, making the latter the first NATO nation to receive this advanced weapon.

According to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, the first parts of the Russian-made S-400 system were flown to an airbase near the capital city of Ankara.

The United States says the Russian military hardware is not compatible with NATO systems and that the acquisition may lead to Ankara's expulsion from an F-35 fighter jet program.

Investors in Turkey have been unsettled by the deal. The Turkish lira weakened as far as 5.728 against the dollar from 5.683 before the ministry announced the arrival of the S-400 consignment to the Murted Air Base, northwest of Ankara. The main Istanbul share index

"The delivery of parts belonging to the system will continue in the coming days," Turkey's Defense Industry Directorate said. "Once the system is completely ready, it will begin to be used in a way determined by the relevant authorities."

At least two Russian Air Force AN-124 cargo planes flew to Turkey on Friday morning, data from plane tracking website Flightradar24 showed. Turkish broadcasters showed footage of one plane parked at airbase and a second one landing at around 12.30 pm (0930 GMT).

Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation confirmed on Friday it had started delivering the S-400 systems and that the deliveries would continue in accordance with an agreed schedule, the RIA news agency reported.

An unnamed military-diplomatic source was cited by Russia’s TASS news agency as saying a second delivery would be carried out by plane soon. A third delivery – of 120 guided missiles – will be carried out by ship at the end of the summer, the source was quoted as saying.

Twenty Turkish servicemen received training from Russia in May-June and 80 more Turkish servicemen will receive training to use the S-400 system, the source was quoted as saying.
Turkey receives its first shipment of the S-400 missile system from Russia, defying U.S. and NATO calls to cancel the deal.