{"id":43900,"date":"2019-07-12T20:31:46","date_gmt":"2019-07-12T20:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/07\/12\/turkey-has-the-s-400-the-trump-administration-is-silent\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:08:29","slug":"turkey-has-the-s-400-the-trump-administration-is-silent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2019\/07\/12\/turkey-has-the-s-400-the-trump-administration-is-silent\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey has the S-400. The Trump administration is silent."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 After months of threatening quick, severe action<\/a> against Turkey should it accept the Russian-made S-400 air defense system, the Trump administration has yet to react to the system\u2019s delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Turkish Defence Ministry statement early July 12 said \u201cthe first group of equipment\u201d of the S-400 air defense systems reached the Murted Air Base<\/a> near Ankara on Thursday evening. The delivery of parts of the system will continue in the coming days and authorities will decide \u201chow it will be used\u201d once the system is made operational, Turkey\u2019s defense industry authority said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pentagon initially called an 11:15 a.m. press briefing July 12 to discuss the S-400 retaliation. It was then switched to 1:45 p.m., then postponed indefinitely. A defense official told reporters that acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper spoke with his Turkish counterpart for half an hour during the afternoon, but said there will be no readout from the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of 1 p.m. on July 13, there was still no statement issued from the White House or the State Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. and other NATO allies have expressed alarm for several years over the purchase of the S-400, with concerns that plugging the Russian system into the alliance could lead to data leaks and security breaches, including concerns it would allow Russians to gain information about the stealthy F-35 fighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen. Mark Milley, Trump\u2019s choice to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in written testimony to the Senate Thursday that \u201cmy recommendation would be to discontinue the transfer of F-35 aircraft to Turkey and unwind Turkey from the F-35 program if Turkey accepts delivery of the S-400. The S-400 is a Russian system built to shoot down aircraft like the F-35.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t