On August 21, Russia’s Interfax newswire reported that Turkey will receive the S-400 Triumf air defense system from Russia in 2019 instead of 2020, as initially announced last year. Turkey will be the only NATO state to acquire the system. The deal was first announced in September 2017, and the U.S. stated in June that...
On August 15, Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich fired a 3M-14 Kalibr (SS-N-30) cruise missile in a Black Sea naval exercise. According to Russian news agency TASS, “This was the first firing exercise held from aboard a surface ship of the Black Sea Fleet using the Kalibr precision system as part of the combat training plan,...
Last week, China officially accepted S-400 Triumf air defense systems from Russia in an acceptance certificate. Elements of the systems were sent in January and delivered to China in April and May. In an interview with Russian news agency TASS, a military diplomatic source stated, “It is planned that in late July-early August the unit of the Chinese People’s...
On July 23, Congress released the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Fiscal Year 2019 Conference Report, which could permit the United States to exempt states from sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). If entered into law, this would allow the United States not to sanction India for (and others in the...
On July 21, Russian Ambassador to Qatar Nurmakhmad Kholov told Russian news agency TASS that Qatar and Russia had been discussing the sale of the S-400 Triumf missile system. In October 2017, Russia and Qatar signed a small arms agreement, with contract agreements following. In the interview, Kholov stated, “As for air defense systems, S-400...
On July 19, the Russian Ministry of Defence released a video of a MiG-31K firing a KH-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM). The interceptor aircraft was flying with “a Tu-22M3 bomber with a new missile,” according to Russian news agency TASS. The Kinzhal is nuclear-capable, and on July 18 TASS reported that Russia plans to...
On July 13, Indian Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman announced that India will continue pursuing its deal with Russia to procure the S-400 Triumf air defense system. The decision comes even with the possibility of sanctions imposed by the United States via the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and follows the price agreement...
On July 12, Russia laid the keel on Stavropol, a Project 21631 Kalibr cruise missile-equipped Buyan-M-class missile corvette, according to Russian news agency TASS. This development follows the June 2018 commissioning of Vyshny Volochyok, another Project 21631 Buyan-M-class corvette carrying carrying 3M-14 Kalibr cruise missiles (SS-N-30A), according to a Russian Ministry of Defense news release. TASS...
On July 3, Russian news source TASS stated that “Russia has completed the state trials of the 40N6E long-range missile for the S-400 air defense system,” according to “a source in the domestic defense industry.” The 40N6E is an extended-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) that may be able to intercept ballistic missiles and has a reported...
On July 2, Russian news source TASS reported that Russia plans to test the KH-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) “aboard the Tu-22M3 strategic bomber.” Quoted in TASS, General Mikhail Operin stated, “‘The tests are needed to see whether it [the bomber] will be capable of accelerating the missile and to get the results.’” The...
