The Russian S-400 is a reasonably effective air defence missile system. It may be somewhat inferior to the best Western systems, but it would certainly be useful for Ukraine.
S-400 in Russian service. Image credit: Mil.ru via Wikimedia (CC BY 4.0)
Türkiye has S-400 systems in its service and could potentially get rid of them in the near future. Türkiye, which is a member of NATO, should not rely on Russian weapon systems. Back in 2019, the US government announced that Türkiye could not purchase F-35 fighter jets because it uses Russian air defence systems. Türkiye really wants the F-35 and keeps raising the issue in the international arena. For example, this question was raised when it was time to ratify Sweden’s membership in NATO.
“There’s no change to our view that the F-35 program for Turkey is incompatible with their use of the S-300 and S-400 missiles. So, we’re still having those discussions. And should Turkey be able to resolve our concerns about that, then there could be a restoration of moving into the F-35 program,” said John Kirby, a spokesman for the US National Security Council.
Türkiye would certainly find something to replace the existing S-300 and S-400 systems. NATO allies would help. In the same breath, it can be mentioned that Türkiye sent a lot of military equipment to Ukraine and wants to contribute to the rise of the Ukrainian defence industry.
However, at the same time, Türkiye is trying to maintain good relations with both Ukraine and Russia. The transfer of S-400 systems to Ukraine would have to be legally approved by Russia, but other countries have transferred Soviet weapons and even Russian ammunition to Ukraine without any communication with Moscow. In any case, if Türkiye were to decide to take such a step, it would undoubtedly put a huge dent in its relations with Russia.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is one of the few politicians who still has the ability to negotiate with everyone – the West and the East, Ukraine and Russia. Also, replacing the S-400 would not be such a quick and simple step. The transfer of Russian arms to Ukraine would be a major blow to Putin, maybe even a stab in the back.
The question can also be raised here, whether the West wants Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to spoil his relations with Russia. Yes, Russia is a terrorist state that sees the security of Europe as a threat to its interests (because a secure Europe limits Putin’s ability to carry out invasions).
However, if you need to talk to Putin for whatever reason, it is good to have a channel like Türkiye. For example, if peace negotiations were to take place, Türkiye would be a good candidate to host them. But the US would like Türkiye not to use Russian systems, Türkiye wants the F-35, Ukraine wants the S-400, Russia wants to keep its foot in the door in the international arms market.
The S-400 air defence missile system was developed at the end of the last century and has more capabilities than the S-300 on which it is based. It is a surface-to-air missile system capable of destroying planes, helicopters, drones, cruise missiles and even ballistic missiles, if Russian reports are to be believed.
Written by Povilas M.
Sources: Tech.wp.pl, Wikipedia