By IDI

Amidst the American opposition and threat of sanctions, Russia, on Friday, delivered the first batch of S-400 to Turkey. In a series of tweets with of pictures of Russian transport aircraft delivering the S-400, the Turkish Ministry of Defence said, “Turkey received the first batch of S-400 air defence systems components. The deliveries are sent to the Murted air base in Ankara province.”

“Moscow and Ankara signed a loan agreement for the delivery of S-400 systems in December 2017. Turkish cooperation with Russia on this matter has been strongly criticised by NATO and the United States, which has cited security concerns and the S-400's incompatibility with NATO's air defence systems,” reported TASS.

The contract for the long-range-air-defence-missile was signed on April 11, 2017.  The $ 2.5 billion contract has pushed the US-Turkey relations to the brink of collapse. The US, suspending the F-35 fighter jets deliveries, had given a deadline of July to Turkey to pull back from the contract.

The S-400, developed by Russia’s Almaz Design Bureau, is currently one of the world’s most sought after weapon system.  Considered as the most capable air defence of the world, it can intercept all kinds of aerial targets including drones, aircraft and cruise missiles up to 400 km range. It fires various kinds of missiles for various ranges.

Apart from Turkey, China and India are the other two major countries which have ordered this system. In addition to this, Russia is in talks with Iraq, Egypt and Qatar. Recently, Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has expressed his willingness to buy it.

India is expected to receive all five regiments by 2024.

Pic- Ministry of Defence, Turkey