US Cannot Do Anything About It
The Republic of Turkey and the United States of America are at odds like never before in history. Russian defensive batteries S-400s are the deal breakers. Yet, at this time, Turkey acquiring more S-400s is no longer a problem. Previously delivered first set, that is operational, already did the permanent damage to the relationship.
Two questions are worth paying attention to. One, what did the US do to force the hands of the staunch US ally Turkey to turn to Russia? Two, what is the ultimate reason for Turkey, playing this Zero Sum Game against the US now?
In either case, it is no use to delve on the answers anymore. The US missed the boat already to have any recourse. Turkey having already acquired the first set, buying a lot more of it means that the boat already sailed.
The US should have seen it coming ahead of time and interfered promptly. The New World Order was easy to see with the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. Yet, somehow, the US never capitalized on this opportunity. It simply fell asleep from 1992 to 2016 in the hands of novice presidents.
‘GameChanger’ explains it further
I wrote the “GAMECHANGER Trump Card: Turkey & Erdogan.” There, I argued how the US cannot reign any longer as a superpower if it does not work with Turkey. My second book explains how domestic and foreign forces put the US to sleep for 24 years. In the interim, fast rising countries in the East rapidly became powerhouses. Turkey joined them, while Western powers continued decaying.
Turkey Acquiring The First Set of S-400s
The Republic of Turkey bought a set of four S-400 defensive batteries from Russia in 2017. The US threatened its long time staunch ally with sanctions. Turkey went ahead and received the deliveries by 2019.
The US warned again not to make them operational. Turkey did not listen. The US came back with CAATSA 231 sanctions against Turkey. Come 2021, these batteries, consisting of 36 fire units and 192+ missiles are already considered operational.
New Turkey Acquiring S-400s
To Dominate Eastern Mediterranean Sea
Simultaneously, in the past decade, Turkey began presenting itself to the world as New Turkey. In 2019, it began successive and massive naval exercises in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Soon it declared the boundaries of its continental shelves in all the surrounding seas based on existing international precedents.
Did the acquisition of the S-400s have anything to do with this declaration and massive naval exercises? They may very well be because S-400s are powerful air defense systems that can impose no fly zones. Navies without air superiority cannot venture to such restricted waters.
If so, what does Turkey acquiring more S-400s mean? Does New Turkey mean more than what the Republic of Turkey stood for since it was founded in 1923?
Turkey Acquiring More S-400s
Declaring Independence from the Western Yoke
Turkey acquiring more S-400s simply means Turkey will soon become totally independent from the Western yoke. Second set of four batteries will ensure more air defense options but also more technology transfer. So much more that, reportedly, Turkey may even enter into co-production of next generation S-500s together with Russia.
A Turkish official in charge of the ongoing negotiations indicated that the second set will be far from being the last. That also explains why Turkey still entertains the purchase of the Patriots from America. On that note, more air defense may also mean varied defense in the ever changing threat projections. Hence, relying on many sources, friend and foe, makes sense.
Air Defense Require
Stratified Defensive Batteries
The path to total independence goes through total access to the air defense systems. That means, air defense also needs to be stratified. It has to protect everything from socio-economic to politico-military assets. That may be the presidential palace, a major city, a nuclear central or something similar.
Along this line, Turkey, indigenously, set the course to develop six different layers of air defense systems and counting. Currently the first four have completed tests and mass productions are under way. In order, they are “Sungur,” “Korkut,” “Hisar A,” “Hisar O”, “Hisar U,” and Siper. S-400s, S-500s, and Patriots represent the seventh and top layer of this stratified system.
Turkey, during the Cold War years, was under the protective umbrella of the Western Alliance known as NATO. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, this umbrella practically lost its purpose. Turkey had to look for alternatives when there was no longer superpower jockeying to worry about.
Turkey immediately sought its own defensive systems but noticed none of the powers with technology was sharing it. Yet the new world order was also in the making. Hence, some, like Russia, decided to start cooperating with Turkey on technology transfer.
The US Did Not Cooperate With Long Time Ally
The US did not realize this trend in time. To put it another way, the US was at sleep during the Globalist led administrations. Clinton, Bush-43, and Obama never understood what was in play when Globalism was reigning. In other words, the foreign powers, with agenda and resources, just made sure that the US would miss the boat.
In specific, when Turkey requested the purchase of the Patriot missiles from the US, it was rejected. Turkey waited until 2017 and then made the deal with Russia.Turkey realized by then that the hands of President Trump were tied with the Robert Mueller Investigation.
In the G-20 Meeting in Osaka, Japan, in June 2020, President Trump publicly highlighted this problem. He said to his counterpart President Erdogan of Turkey: “It was Obama.” His acknowledgment was also an admission that it was already too late to turn the clock back on the issue. Turkey had long paid for and received the first set of the S-400s.
By 2020, Turkey, in fact, no longer needed anymore transfer of technology from the US. It was able to sustain rapid growth on its own. Plus, there were lots of countries from the East and the West, offering technology transfer. The environment in the wake of the new world order was very fluid.
Turkey No Longer Depends on the West
So much so that Turkey in one decade had already become a leading country in missile technologies. A Turkish official recently stated that Turkey currently has about twenty thousand engineers in this field. The results are easy to discern.
The SOM-J and Cirit missiles are like no other in the world. The SOM-J is the preferred cruise missile for F-35s. Cirit is in a category of its own. Laser-guided 70 mm missile system with 19 tubes in a pod is suitable for drones, helicopters, trucks, attack boats to name a few.
Atmaca, Gezgin, Gokdogan, and Bozdogan are extra ordinary technologies with very sophisticated engineering feats. Each one is better than what is available in the West with range, price or technology. While the first two emulate Harpoon and Tomahawk missiles, the latter two are the challengers for sidewinders and amraams on aircrafts.
Then there is the Smart Micro Munition (MAM) series. These missiles already proved their worth when they were used from Turkish drones in Syria, Libya and Karabakh conflicts. They easily destroyed hundreds of tanks, defensive batteries, and strategic military sites. They won wars in record time against the likes of Russian, Chinese and Western equipped forces.
Finally, there are others like Bora with 610 mm diameter, 7.8 m length, 2500 kg weight, and up to 360 km maximum range. Others of similar nature are not disclosed to date. Speculations and reports are abound about the readiness of the intercontinental ballistic missiles.
At this stage it is sufficient to note that Turkey has already set a date. It will have a rocket that will make a hard landing on the surface of the Moon in 2023. By then, and from there, S-400s will be so far away and small to notice for everyone concerned.
