The first shipment of the Russian-made S-400 air defense missile system has landed in Ankara, in a move that sets up a potential showdown between Turkey and the United States.
The equipment arrived at the Murted Air Base on Friday, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry. Another plane is due to fly to Turkey with a second batch of equipment in the near future, a military-diplomatic source told Russia’s state-run TASS news agency. That source added that a third delivery, carrying over “120 anti-aircraft missiles of various types” will be delivered “tentatively at the end of the summer, by sea.”
Turkey’s decision to purchase the equipment solidifies ties that have been developed between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and is just the latest setback to US-Turkish relations which have seen the two NATO allies at odds over issues such as Syria.
The US has long warned that Turkey risked being blocked from receiving the advanced F-35 stealth jet due to Ankara’s insistence on acquiring the Russian missiles – a system US officials fear could be used to analyse and collect intelligence on the F-35.
A NATO official told CNN on Friday that: “It is up to allies to decide what military equipment they buy. However, we are concerned about the potential consequences of Turkey’s decision to acquire the S-400 system.”
The official added that, “interoperability of our armed forces is fundamental to NATO for the conduct of our operations and missions.”
How the US could react
The Pentagon could formally suspend Turkey from participation in the F-35 program altogether.
Touted as the future of military aviation, the F-35 jet – which is the most expensive weapons system in history – is a lethal and versatile aircraft that combines stealth capabilities, supersonic speed, extreme agility and sensor fusion technology, according to its primary contractor Lockheed Martin.
The US had consistently told Turkey that the S-400 was incompatible with NATO systems.
Yet despite those warnings, senior Turkish officials had long expressed optimism that the Trump administration would not follow through on its threat to expel Turkey from the jet program, saying that the US President had promised to resolve the issue while also pledging not to integrate the S-400 with any NATO systems.
Sanctions expected
The US is expected to level sanctions against Turkey over its acquisition of the Russian system, penalties mandated by the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) which penalizes countries that purchase military equipment from blacklisted firms.
Sanctions could severely hurt Turkey’s economy, which is suffering from the fallout of Erdogan’s recent move to sack the governor of the Turkish Central Bank.
If the US ejects Turkey from the F-35 program, Ankara will not only be prevented from fulfilling its plans to acquire some 100 aircraft but Turkish companies and component manufacturers, which have been involved in the plane’s development will lose out on significant business opportunities.
What does it mean for Turkey’s standing in NATO?
Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 missile system opens up wider questions concerning Turkey’s diplomatic path, as this sale marks another edge towards autocratic regimes like Russia.
Erdogan’s jailing of journalists and authoritarian have already clashed with key tenants of NATO’s membership, which carries with it obligations of democracy and human rights.
But, more importantly, NATO’s mission since inception is to defend other member states from Russian encroachment.
So a key NATO member, with Turkey possessing the second largest standing army and being its only Muslim member, actually courting Russian hardware could be beyond the pale for many NATO members.
