Turkey hopes to outstrip Russia in air defense technology

Turkey's Siper air defense system will have a potential to surpass Russia's renowned S-400 anti-aircraft missile system, the head of Turkey's defense industry department, Ismail Demir said, The Sabah newspaper wrote.

According to Demir, Turkey is nearing the completion of the development of Siper air defense system.

"We believe that the system will reach the level of the S-400 air defense system or even surpass it,” he said.

In October, Ismail Demir announced that within the next few years Turkey would develop its own analogue of Russia's S-400 Triumf system.

"We now have HİSAR A+ and HİSAR O+ air defense systems with a range of up to 20 kilometers. We will create the air defense complex with a range of up to 100 kilometers. After that, we will upgrade these indicators in the SİPER system. We are gradually moving to develop an analogue to the S-400,” he said.

Russia's S-400 system in internationally recognized as the pinnacle of anti-aircraft defense technology. In 2017, The Economist wrote that it was "one of the best air-defense systems currently made", whereas SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) said that the S-400 was one of "the most advanced air defense systems available."