Turkey plans to purchase second batch of Russian S-400 air defense missile.

According to a news released on the Russian Press Agency TASS website, Russia and Turkey plan to sign another contract for the delivery of second batch of Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air defense missile systems in 2020, a military diplomatic source told TASS on February 14, 2018.

S-400 TEL (Transporter Erector Launcher) road mobile unit (Picture source otvaga2004.ru)

"After the delivery of the first batch concludes in May or June 2020, the parties plan to sign a new contract on the delivery of the second batch of the S-400 surface-to-air defense missile systems in 2021. The list of supplies will be similar to the one included in the first contract," the source said.

According to the source, the new document is planned to stipulate local manufacturing as Turkish companies will produce certain components of the S-400 systems, "which are not of crucial importance."

On September 12, 2017, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara had signed an agreement with Moscow on buying the S-400 systems and an upfront payment had been already remitted. On November 2, the same year, Russian Rostec Corporation CEO Sergey Chemezov told TASS that the contract with Turkey on the sale of S-400 systems exceeded $2 bln. Turkish Undersecretary for Defense Industry Ismail Demir said the delivery of S-400s would begin within two years. On November 11, 2017, Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli officially announced that the issue of purchasing Russia’s S-400 systems had been sorted out.

The S-400 Triumf is a long-range air defense missile system put into operation with the Russian armed forces in 2007. The S-400 Triumf intended to engage, ECM, radar-picket, director area, reconnaissance, strategic and tactical aircraft, tactical and theatre ballistic missiles, medium-range ballistic missiles and other current and future air attack assets at a maximum range of 400 km, and a altitude of up to 30 km. The S-400 Triumf can also intended Tomahawk cruise missiles and other types of missiles, including precision-guided ones, as well as AWACS aircraft, at ranges of up to 400 km.