US Senate to Ban US Weapon Supplies to Turkey Over Potential Purchase of Russian S-400 System

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On Monday, the US Senate adopted the National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which obliges the Secretary of Defense to present a special report regarding the potential purchase by Turkey of the S-400 air/missile defence system from Russia. The document stated:

Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of the Act, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the status of the US relationship with the Republic of Turkey. The Secretary of Defense may not take any action to execute the delivery of a foreign military sale for major defence equipment to Turkey until the report is submitted.

The document stipulates:

The required report should include an assessment of the potential purchase by the Government of Turkey of the S-400 air and missile defence system from the Russian Federation and the potential effects of such purchase on the USA-Turkey bilateral relationship, including an assessment of impacts on other US weapon systems and platforms operated jointly with Turkey to include the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike aircraft, the Patriot surface-to-air missile system, the CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopter, the AH-1 Attack helicopter, the UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter, and the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft. The Secretary of Defense isn’t allowed to take any action to execute the delivery of a foreign military sale for major defence equipment subject to congressional notification to the Republic of Turkey until the Secretary submits to the appropriate congressional committees the report.

Earlier reports said that Ankara intends to purchase over 100 F-35 warplanes. The proposed measure may hinder the execution of the contract.

The S-400 Triumf is an advanced long-range antiaircraft missile system that went into service in 2007. It is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range missiles, and surface targets. The S-400 can engage targets at a distance of 400 kilometres and at an altitude of up to 30 kilometres. In November 2016, Turkey and Russia were negotiating a contract for the supply of S-400 air defence systems. Russia confirmed the conclusion of the contract on 12 September 2017.

19 June 2018

TASS

http://tass.com/world/1010065

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28 March 2017. Russian Land-Based Nuclear-Capable Missiles

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16 September 2014. As Seen by Vitaly Podvitsky. They’re My New TARGETS! 2014

They’re My New TARGETS!

Vitaly Podvitsky

2014

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The USA boasts of its “overwhelming conventional superiority”… that isn’t so… it’s never been so… it won’t be so in future, either. Note how unwelcoming the Eastern Europeans became to American plans for ABM bases after Russia said, “Fine… if you allow such bases, we’ll install Iskander SRBMs in Kaliningrad Oblast”. You see, the Iskanders would hit their targets before any ABM system would lock onto them. Czechia and Poland suddenly lost interest in such bases, reasoning that they didn’t want to become Priority One targets for Russian strategic assets. Fancy that…

“Overwhelming superiority”, indeed…

BMD

Still More on the Missile Event

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On Tuesday, an official from the alliance told RIA-Novosti that NATO has no information about the launch of “ballistic targets” in the Mediterranean; it’s looking into those reports. Earlier on Tuesday, Minoborony said that its early warning systems detected the launch of two “ballistic targets” in the Mediterranean. The Pentagon, the UK and French Defence Ministries, and the Israel Defence Forces all told RIA-Novosti that they had no information about such launches. A French Defence Ministry spokesman said, “The Defence Ministry can’t confirm these media reports. This is all I can say”. A Minoborony spokesman said that a radar in Armavir detected the launch at 10.16 MSK (23.16 2 September PDT. 02.16 EDT. 07.16 UTC. 17.16 AEDT). The targets’ trajectories ran from the central to the eastern Mediterranean. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported the launch to President Vladimir Putin. The Minoborony press service wasn’t immediately available for further comment. The Russian Embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus said that it didn’t have any information about the launch.

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An Israeli Defence Ministry official in Tel Aviv said that the Israeli military launched the two “ballistic targets” detected Tuesday in the Mediterranean by the Russian military as part of a joint US/Israeli test of its missile defence system, saying, “The launches we’re talking about were a test of the Anchor target missile that’s used for testing our missile defence system”. The launches were part of joint tests with the US military, and that radars in Israel successfully tracked them. A diplomatic source in Damascus told RIA-Novosti that the targets fell into the sea. A RIA-Novosti correspondent reported that the streets and residents of the Syrian capital appeared calm.

3 September 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130903/183137203/NATO-Probing-Mediterranean-Ballistic-Launch-Reports.html

http://en.ria.ru/world/20130903/183138071/Mediterranean-Ballistic-Targets-Were-Part-of-Israeli-Test–Defense-Ministry.html