S-400 SAM supplies to Turkey is ‘first shot’ in region, Russian MP says

By  Trend

Russia and the Middle East will continue cooperating in the sphere of deliveries of Russian armament to the region, Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma [Lower House of the Russian Parliament - TASS] Leonid Slutsky said in an interview with RT TV Channel. The start of S-400 SAM system supplies to Turkey is just ‘the first shot’, the MP said, Trend reports citing TASS.

"Turkey is the first sign. S-400 and a more advanced armament system from Russia will definitely appear in the region. We will cooperate closely; volumes of such cooperation are huge. I am confident we should increase such cooperation at every possible way," Slutsky said.

Deliveries of S-400 to Turkey began on July 12. According to the Turkish Defense Ministry, on this day three cargo planes delivered several tractors and a loading vehicle from the S-400 complex.

The S-400 Triumph (SA-21 Growler by NATO classification) is a Russian-made long-range and intermediate air defense missile system designed to eliminate all advanced and perspective aerospace weapons. It can hit aerodynamic targets at a range of up to 400 kilometers and tactical ballistic targets flying at a speed of 4.8 km/s at a distance of up to 60 kilometers. Such targets include cruise missiles, tactical and strategic aircraft and ballistic missile warheads. The radars detect aerial targets at a distance of up to 600 kilometers. The 48N6E3 missiles can hit aerodynamic targets at altitudes of 10,000-27,000 meters and ballistic targets at altitudes of 2,000-25,000 meters.