Russia ‘ready’ for joint air-defense systems

LIMA

Russia is ready to develop jointly with Turkey a long-range air defense complex based on S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, state arms seller Rosoboronexport head Sergei Ladygin said May 19.

Turkey launched a tender for the purchase of long-range air defense systems long ago but no winner has been announced. Competitors include U.S. partners Raytheon and Lockheed Martin with their Patriot-based system; Eurosam with its SAMP/T Aster 30, Russia’s Rosoboronexport, which markets the country’s S-300 and S-400 systems; and China’s CPMIEC (China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation), offering its HQ-9.

“Russia is ready to offer as part of the tender a joint Russian-Turkish product based on the Antey-2500 system [the export version of the S-300 system]. For example, to mount the air defense system on the Turkish chassis,” Ladygin was quoted as saying by Russian news agency Ria Novosti.

Rosoboronexport has also proposed that Russia and Turkey join efforts to promote this air defense system in the markets of third countries, he said. The advanced version of the S-300 missile system, called S-300PMU1, has a range of over 150 kilometers and can intercept ballistic missiles and aircraft at low and high altitudes.