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Turkey will purchase an additional Russian-made S-400 air defense system, the head of Turkey's Defense Industries Administration said.
"We have a basic agreement on the supply of the second batch of the Russian S-400 system, and there are some technical issues regarding transport operations," Ismail Demir said in a television interview earlier this week. "Ankara is also interested in proposals to purchase Patriot and Eurosam air defense systems."
A Turkish official said the sale would go on despite production and delivery issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Turkey received a loan from Russia to partially finance the $2.5 billion purchase of the S-400 system of ground-to-air armaments. An agreement was signed in December 2017 and the first "Triumf" missiles and missile launchers arrived in Turkey in July 2019.
The deal caused a crisis in U.S.-Turkish relations, with Washington demanding an end to the sale in exchange for the opportunity to purchase American Patriot systems.
The United States also threatened to delay or cancel the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey and impose sanctions, but Ankara did not yield to U.S. pressure.
The S-400 missile includes a command and control center capable of coordinating several battalions of troops, a radar detection system and ultra-long-range missiles.
Russia has said that the missiles are designed to destroy aircraft, and cruise and ballistic missiles. It can also be used against ground installations, and can engage targets up to 250 miles away or at an altitude of up to 18 miles.
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