Turkey starts testing the radars of the S-400 missile systems, purchased from Russia, and F-16 fighters and other planes will be scrambled for this purpose, the Milliyet newspaper reported on Monday, citing a military source
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2019) Turkey starts testing the radars of the S-400 missile systems, purchased from Russia, and F-16 fighters and other planes will be scrambled for this purpose, the Milliyet newspaper reported on Monday, citing a military source.
According to the newspaper, the test aims at checking communication between the S-400 and Turkey's aircraft.
The administration of Ankara's governor specified that the tests would be conducted from Monday to Tuesday.
"The secretariat of the defense industry will conduct in the airspace above Ankara's area test flights of F-16 fighters and other aircraft at different heights on November 25 and November 26," the administration said in a statement.
The S-400 deliveries, which have triggered a crisis in Turkey's relations with the United States, started in mid-July. The systems are expected to become fully operational by April 2020, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Washington believes that the S-400 is incompatible with NATO security standards. It suspended Turkey's participation in the F-35 program in July, pledging to completely remove the country from the program by late March 2020, but Turkey remains committed to purchasing the S-400 despite all threats.
