NATO Beware: Turkey May Buy Russia's S-300 Air Defense System
May 6, 2015
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Turkey is still considering purchasing Russia’s S-300 air and missile defense system, a senior Russian defense industry official said on Wednesday.
According to TASS news outlet, Sergey Goreslavsky, the deputy head of Rosoboronexport— Russia’s state-owned arms exporter—Turkey continues to express interest in potentially purchasing Russia’s S-300.
Speaking at the IDEF-2015 arms exhibition in Istanbul, Goreslavsky said that Turkey’s defense minister, İsmet Yılmaz, stopped by Rosoboronexport’s booth at IDEF-2015 to discuss the S-300 and other Russian arms.
"He said that this country is ready for the continuation of cooperation in the sphere of technology transfer," Goreslavsky said, TASS reported.
Turkey is currently looking to spend between $3.4-$4 billion on an air and missile defense system as part of its T-LORAMIDS program. Russia had put in a bid for its Antey-2500 air defense system (the export version of the S-300) for that contract, along with defense companies from Europe, the United States and China. However, according to Jane’s, Russia’s bid was for a whooping $9 billion.
In September 2013, Turkey shocked many by announcing it had selected the proposal submitted by China Precision Machinery Export-Import Corp. (CPMEIC) to jointly develop its HQ-9 system (FT-2000). This raised the hackles of Ankara’s NATO allies, including the United States, who said the HQ-9 system was not interoperable with NATO’s larger, Patriot-based air defense system.
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http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/nato-beware-turkey-may-buy-russias-s-300-air-defense-system-12822
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