Moscow, Riyadh Continue Talks on S-400 Air Defence Systems Deal – Arms Exporter

ABU DHABI (Sputnik) – Russia and Saudi Arabia continue the talks on deliveries of S-400 Triumph air defence systems (NATO reporting name SA-21 Growler), the director general of the Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, Alexander Mikheev, said on Sunday.

"We are holding additional consultations on this project and the contract is being considered now", Mikheev said.

According to Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation’s spokeswoman Maria Vorobyova, Russia and Saudi Arabia also reached agreements on the deliveries of Russia's Kornet-EM anti-tank systems (NATO reporting name AT-14 Spriggan), TOS-1A Buratino heavy flamethrower systems, AGS-30 grenade launchers and Kalashnikov AK-103 assault rifles.

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In October 2017, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud visited Moscow. It was the first ever visit of a reigning Saudi monarch to Russia. Among a number of bilateral agreements signed during the visit, Moscow and Riyadh reached a preliminary agreement on the acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defence system by Saudi Arabia.

The S-400 Triumph is Russia's next-generation mobile surface-to-air missile system carrying three different types of missiles capable of destroying aerial targets at a short-to-extremely-long range. It integrates a multifunctional radar, autonomous detection and targeting systems, anti-aircraft missile systems, launchers, and a command and control centre. Along with Saudi Arabia, some other countries, including India and Turkey have also shown interest in purchasing the systems.