On December 14 the US State Department announced sanctions against the Turkish defence industry, after Ankara's purchase of the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft system.
The move was based on a 2017 piece of legislation, the Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act, penalising Turkey for finalising the $2.5 billion arms deal.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Ankara had "knowingly engaged in a significant transaction with Rosoboronexport, Russia’s main arms export entity, by procuring the S-400 surface-to-air missile system".
But why has this system – supposedly cutting-edge technology, created so much consternation in Washington? Here is some background on the S-400, what its makers claim it is capable of, and why it might not be as potent as some claim.
What is the S-400 capable of?
A mobile air-defence missile battery, it is equipped with a powerful radar system which can track up to 80 targets simultaneously, engaging them with high-velocity, high-altitude missiles at very long ranges. The radars with the system also operate together on different frequencies, allowing for more accurate detection of enemy targets.
With this array of capabilities, the S-400 ensures that attacking aircraft will struggle to get close to enemy airspace, let alone successfully carry out a bombing raid. Its most recent missiles, including the 40N6, can engage targets at altitudes of 24,000 metres, up to 400 kilometres away – or so the makers claim.
More concerning for Nato, the long range of the S-400 and its predecessor the S-300 is so great that while technically a defensive weapon, it can engage targets over foreign territory, potentially an offensive capability.
Why is the US so worried by the S-400?
Initially, Washington was concerned that Turkey could test the S-400's powerful radar on F-35 jets, which the Turks intended to buy and manufacture domestically. This was a red line for Washington, which closely guards the F-35s stealth technology and complex avionics. US exports of F-35s to Turkey were subsequently cancelled before the first aircraft arrived.
But Washington is no doubt concerned for its Greek allies —also in Nato —who operate older aircraft than the stealthy F-35: the current Greek aircraft inventory could be vulnerable to the S-400.
So the S-400 represents an unstoppable threat to the US, and this is why they are concerned?
This depends on who you ask. For one thing, the version sold to Turkey may not have the same features as S-400s in Russian inventories.
"The S-400 system that Turkey has purchased is likely to lack some of the more advanced software and radar features compared to the Russian Armed Forces version - exports are usually downgraded, let alone when given to a Nato member state," according to Justin Bronk, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London.
Nato was able to study an S-300 after Cyprus bought the system from Russia at the end of the 1990s. In what is arguably a historical irony, Turkey threatened to attack Cyprus unless the order was cancelled.
The crisis was finally defused when the system was transferred to Greece, allowing Nato to examine the system – albeit a predecessor of the S-400. In 2014, the Greek air force even test fired its ageing S-300. Since the Cyprus S-300 crisis, Israel, the US and other Nato countries have made herculean efforts to devise countermeasures to defeat the S-300 (used by Iran and Syria) and the S-400 system.
Aircraft such as the F-35 and weapons like the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) were developed, the latter being a cruise missile that uses stealth technology, potentially evading the S-400’s powerful radar.
Nineteen JASSM missiles were fired at the Syrian regime in the spring of 2018, in response to a Syrian chemical weapons attack that killed civilians. At the time, Russia had deployed S-300 and S-400 systems stationed in Syria. The use of the JASSM therefore, was in anticipation that the Russians and Syrians would try to shoot down some of the older cruise missiles used by the Americans, using the S-400 and S-300.
So the system has limitations?
While the S-400 could be lethal against a badly planned attack, its maximum range may depend on what other equipment its users decide to deploy in tandem with the system. This is because of the curvature of the Earth, which limits radar projection to the horizon. Very low-flying objects, such as cruise missiles or even aircraft, may therefore not be detectable until they are close enough to attack the system. At low level, this range could be as little as 40km.
For the S-400 to reach its full potential, it needs to be integrated with a large number of other radar systems, including airborne radar such as airborne early warning and control planes, or Awac planes, supplemented by smaller air defence systems. This is something the Russians have invested a lot of time and money in — an "integrated air defence" system, or IADs. Turkey may have a long way to go before having such capability.
"A solitary S-400 system, while very capable against a wide range of aerial and ballistic targets, is far less capable than a system integrated within a wider layered IADS," according to Mr Bronk.
Mr Bronk says that Turkey's promise to keep the S-400 separate from Nato's air defence network will critically limit the system, denying it the level of integration enjoyed by S-400s in Russian service.
"The S-400 in Turkish service will be far less capable than Russian equivalents working as a core lynchpin of a broader IADS," he says.
But new technology is also in service that could pose a serious threat to the S-400 on the battlefield, according to Mr Bronk.
"Loitering munitions pose a serious threat if launch platforms can get close enough to release significant numbers of them, which can overwhelm the self-defence capabilities of the system," he says, referring to munitions that were commonly referred to as "suicide drones."
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Dust and sand storms compared
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- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Read more from Kareem Shaheen
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
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THREE
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
- Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
- Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
- Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
- Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
- Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
- Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
Match info:
Leicester City 1
Ghezzal (63')
Liverpool 2
Mane (10'), Firmino (45')
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
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