Turkey has begun testing its recently purchased Russian air defense missile system regardless of sanction threats from the United States. The decision by Turkey to buy the Russian S-400 was met with a lot of opposition by the US and her NATO allies.
Planes, including F-16 fighter jets, circled the Murted military base in Ankara province to test the newly acquired S-400 system and train Turkish operators. The US has raised the issue that there is a risk that sensitive technological information could be leaked if S-400 is used alongside Western equipment such as the new F-35 jet.
Turkey has ordered 100 F-35s and its defense industry was part of the supply chain for the new jet until it was kicked off the program due to the S-400 purchase. There are also fears that F-35s flown in Turkey could be detected by its own S-400 radar systems, and that data sent to Russia could be used to improve detection and targeting of the stealthy F-35 by Russian equipment.
