Russia to put missiles defence systems on combat duty around Moscow

Moscow, May 21 (UNI) Russian Air Force commander General Alexander Zelin today said S-400 missile defence systems will be put on combat duty around the Russian capital on July 1.

"On July 1, one battalion of S-400 missile defence systems will be put on combat duty to defend the airspace of Moscow and Central Russia," General Zelin told RIA Novosti news agency.

He said the battalion was at an air force range and, after range practice, the battalion based in the town of Elektrostal, east of Moscow, will go on active duty.

The S-400 Triumf is a new air defence missile system developed by the Almaz Central Design Bureau as an upgrade of the S-300 family.

It has been designed to intercept and destroy airborne targets at a distance of up to 400 kilometres, which is twice the range of the MIM-104 Patriot, and 2.5 times that of the S-300PMU-2.

Recently, the commander of the Air Defence Forces Special Command General Yury Solovyov said the system could also be used for limited purposes in missile and space defence, but it is not intended to destroy intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

However, he pointed out the system was highly capable of destroying stealth aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles with an effective range of up to 3,500 kilometres and a speed of up to 4.8 kilometres per second.

The Russian Air Defence Forces, which are a part of the Russian Air Force, currently deploy more than 30 regiments equipped with S-300 missile complexes, which will be gradually replaced with S-400 systems.

UNI