Turkey starts work to produce long-range air defense missiles – Erdogan

Turkey has started work on making its first domestically produced long-range air defense missile system, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. The first delivery is planned for 2021, Reuters quoted him as saying. Ankara is also purchasing S-400 surface-to-air missiles from Russia. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said last week that the installation of the S-400 missile system would begin in October, 2019, according to state-owned Anadolu news agency. Turkey said earlier that the United States and other Western allies had failed to cooperate with it in its efforts to boost its defense capabilities.