Russia offers Turkey to buy back the S-400 systems it sold in 2017

Russia has approached Turkey with a proposal to return two S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, which Ankara purchased in 2017 for $2.5 billion and received in 2019. This was reported by Militarnyi with reference to the Turkish publication Nefes.

The reason for the initiative is the shortage of such systems in Russian stocks and the growing demand for them from third countries. In Turkey, the complexes have not been integrated into NATO structures, and the shelf life of their missiles has already reached half of the established resource. In addition, they require maintenance, which creates additional costs for the Turkish side.

Ankara is also developing its own air defense system, the Çelik Kubbe (Steel Dome), which reduces its dependence on Russian technology. Turkey is also seeking to lift US sanctions imposed under the CAATSA law after the S-400 purchase. The sanctions led to the country's exclusion from the F-35 fighter jet program.

Moscow is interested in quickly replenishing its S-400 stockpiles, as losses at the front and external demand are creating a shortage. There are no ready-made complexes in reserve, except for those already in service.

There has been no official response from Turkey yet, but sources report a positive attitude towards the proposal.

As Militarnyi writes, Russia has previously postponed the delivery of the last S-400s to India due to its own needs, moving them to 2026–2027.

By the way, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have recently been actively destroying Russian air defense systems, including the S-400. Recently, fighters of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Air Defense Forces managed to hit a Russian radar station from the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system in Crimea. Later, the GUR "Prymary" special unit destroyed new Russian air defense facilities in Crimea, among which was also a radar station from the S-400 air defense system.