Turkey activated radars of Russian made S-400 to detect U.S fighter jets?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that Turkey has started testing the Russian-made system S-400 weapons system, VOA reported:

“(The tests) have been and are being conducted,” Erdogan said.“The United States’ stance absolutely does not concern us. If we are not going to test these capabilities at our disposal, then what are we going to do?” he added.

NATO confirmed in an October 24 meeting that Turkey had activated the S-400:

“On the S-400, I have stated several times that I am concerned about the consequences of the Turkish decision to acquire S-400 system. And this is, of course, a national decision. But at the same time, what matters for NATO is that we have interoperability when, especially when it comes to air and missile defence and the S-400 system cannot be integrated, cannot be part of the NATO integrated air and missile defence,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.

” Chief Pentagon Spokesman, Jonathan Rath Hoffman strongly condemns the decision by Turkey in a tweet:

“We have been clear: an operational S-400 system is not consistent with Turkey’s commitments as a US and NATO ally. We object to Turkey’s purchase of the system, & are deeply concerned with reports that Turkey is bringing it into operation. It should not be activated.

Turkey signed a deal to buy the S-400 air defense system from Russia in 2017, with first deliveries in July 2019, according to the VOA report.

In 2018 Sec Pompeo warned Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu that the S-400 system, radars, and missile batteries will not be integrated with those of Ankara’s NATO allies, a senior U.S. official said with Rfe reporting ….The secretary underscored the seriousness of U.S. concerns…if [the Turkish authorities] go ahead. He asked Cavusoglu to closely consider NATO interoperable systems

Turkey has no intention of backing off.

“It seems that the gentlemen (in the U.S.) are especially bothered that this is a weapon belonging to Russia,” Erdogan told reporters. “We are determined, we are continuing on our path as always.”

U.S. Senators React, sending a strongly worded letter to Sec. Pompeo:

The Honorable Mike Pompeo U.S. Secretary of State
United States Department of state Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Pompeo, October 7, 2020

We write concerning public reports that Turkey has activated the radars of its Russian-made S- 400 anti-aircraft system, in order to detect U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets returning from the Eunomia exercise conducted by France, Italy, Greece and Cyprus in late August in response to Turkey’s unwarranted aggression in the Eastern Mediterranean. Reports also suggest that Turkey may plan a general test of the S-400 system near the city of Sinop. Last year, Turkish F-16 jets flew over Ankara as a part of a test of the S-400 system, which administration officials indicated could allow Russia a backdoor to spy on NATO allies.

To-date, the administration has not imposed sanctions on Turkey for its purchase of the S-400 under Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (P.L. 115- 44). Reports of this activation make clear that Turkey has no intention of reversing course and divesting of this system. Additionally, the slow pace at which the Department of Defense is moving to remove Turkey from the F-35 supply chain has no doubt emboldened President Erdogan. Turkey’s recent reported activation of the S-400 system to detect the U.S. F-16 underscores our grave concerns about Russia’s ability to access sensitive data.

Given this information, we again urge you to impose sanctions on Turkey as required by law. In addition, we request the following information by October 14:

•   Did Turkey activate the S-400 to detect F-16 fighter jets returning from the Eunomia exercise?
•   Has Turkey integrated the Link 16, NATO’s tactical data link, into the S-400 system? If so, could this integration enable Russia to gather information on NATO allies?Sincerely,Chris Van Hollen James Lankford United States Senator United States Senator