General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGOP Senator Seeks Amendment Allowing the U.S. to Buy Russian Defense System
BY JAMES WALKER ON 6/30/20 AT 6:50 AM EDT
The U.S. could be permitted to purchase the Russian S-400 missile defense system from Turkey under a Senate amendment proposed last week.
Under the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 proposed by Senate Majority Whip John Thune, the U.S. Army would be able to purchase the S-400 missile defense system from Turkey, provided the country certified that money from the purchase would not be used to buy equipment deemed "incompatible" with the NATO alliance.
The proposal, first covered by Defense News, offers a potential remedy to tensions between Washington and Ankara over the country's purchase of the air defense system last year.
Shortly after Turkish officials accepted the Russian military technology, the U.S. removed Ankara from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program and originally threatened to withdraw Turkey's production work on the aircraft by March this year.
</snip>
2naSalit
(86,050 posts)marble falls
(56,358 posts)agingdem
(7,756 posts)"those bounties must have cost you a pretty penny...here's a missile defense system...consider this a rebate...no hard feelings, big guy"
jpak
(41,741 posts)Really
LastDemocratInSC
(3,625 posts)soothsayer
(38,601 posts)Bit of a tangled web.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)This amendment should go down in flames.
-Laelth
Calista241
(5,584 posts)I doubt wed ever field a Russian SAM battery in an operational way, but the Russians have invested heavily in missile based air defense. Something the US hasnt really done in the recent past as weve relied on stealth technology and the lack of our competitors investing in it to protect US air space.
We do have a low altitude stinger based missile system, and weve purchased a Norwegian Surface to air conversion of the air to air AMRAAM and deployed it to protect Washington DC. But those are only effective at a relatively low altitude. The Russian S300 and S400 missile systems are much longer range and much more highly regarded missile systems.
The Patriot missile system is hot garbage, and the THAAD is more focused on ballistic missile defense.
If we could get our hands on them, take them apart, figure out how it works, wed cut years of development time (and billions of dollars) off of a SAM program of our own. The S400 is a 4th generation long range air defense system. Getting our hands on it would be a boon technologically, and a giant slap in the face to Russia and their Turkish alliance. Even if we paid double, triple or quadruple what the Turks paid.
hack89
(39,171 posts)this would be a good move if we can pull it off.