Despite recent media speculation, India is unlikely to buy Turkey’s S-400 missile system directly. Reports from Turkish outlets suggest Russia has proposed buying back Ankara’s S-400 units and diverting them to another customer, potentially India.

Turkish media outlets have reported a potentially significant development concerning the widely debated S-400 Triumf air defence system deal between Ankara and Moscow.

According to the reports, Russia has approached Turkey with a proposal to buy back the S-400 systems that it originally delivered in 2019, under a deal that triggered major repercussions within NATO and led to Turkey’s expulsion from the U.S. F-35 fighter program.

The essence of the proposal, as cited by Turkish sources, is that Ankara could transfer the S-400 batteries back to Russia, which would then re-export or reallocate them to a third country after carrying out upgrades.

Turkish media has further suggested that this arrangement would not technically be viewed by Ankara’s NATO allies as Turkey “exporting” weapons to Russia, since the return mechanism would essentially involve the original supplier reclaiming its systems for onward delivery elsewhere.

This framing appears aimed at insulating Turkey from political backlash within NATO, where the initial procurement of the Russian system had been seen as a betrayal of interoperability norms and alliance security principles.

The reports added that one plausible customer for these repurposed S-400 units is India, which had contracted for five regimental sets of the system in 2018, but whose delivery schedule has been slowed due to supply chain disruptions and the international sanctions environment affecting Russia.

Moscow had completed the transfer of some units to India, but subsequent batches have been delayed, raising concerns within India’s strategic establishment about gaps in its planned layered missile defence architecture.

If the Turkish-returned systems were refurbished and redirected, the logic is that this would allow Russia to accelerate India’s deliveries by utilizing hardware already manufactured and in service with Turkey rather than waiting for fresh production capacity to clear.

For India, which faces twin security challenges from both China and Pakistan, timely induction of the remaining S-400 regiments has been considered critical, especially as Beijing has already deployed similar systems along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and in its integrated air defence grid.

However, neither Turkish nor Russian authorities have confirmed such plans.

Turkey received two regiments of S-400s in 2019 under a $2.5 billion deal with Russia but never fully activated them due to NATO concerns and U.S. sanctions. Ankara has repeatedly denied any intention of reselling the systems, with Defence Minister Yasar Guler reaffirming in 2024 that Turkey’s batteries remain operational and deployable within hours if required.

For New Delhi, the speculation comes at a time when its own S-400 deliveries have slowed. India purchased five systems under a $5 billion contract with Russia in 2018 but has so far received only three units. The remaining two are delayed due to supply-chain disruptions linked to the Ukraine war. The possibility of reallocated Turkish S-400s reaching India would, in theory, help Moscow meet contractual obligations faster.

Still, several challenges complicate this scenario. Any transfer from Turkey would first require Ankara to return the hardware to Russia, a move that may trigger political friction within NATO. Additionally, India would likely prefer direct delivery of new S-400 systems tailored to its configuration, rather than refurbished units originally built for Ankara.

From the strategic angle, India already fields three operational S-400 regiments covering its northern and western borders, with two more awaited. Russia continues to indicate that delayed deliveries will be fulfilled once current production bottlenecks ease. Thus, India has little incentive to acquire Turkish stock despite temporary gaps in its missile shield expansion.

For now, Ankara’s systems remain stored and symbolically sensitive, while New Delhi continues to rely on its original deal with Moscow. Unless Russia itself formally restructures the supply chain, the notion of India sourcing S-400s via Turkey is largely speculative.

Based On India Reports