Article Posted on : - Aug 16, 2012

A file photo.

MOSCOW (BNS): The Russian Military is set to deploy the fourth regiment of the S-400 Triumf air defence missile system in the country's Far East.

The fourth regiment armed with S-400 Triumf air defence systems will be officially put on combat duty in Russia's Far East on Thursday, a spokesman for the Eastern Military District said on Wednesday.

"The official ceremony will be held on August 16," the official was quoted as saying by Ria Novosti.

The new regiment with the surface-to-air S-400 missiles will be deployed near the port city of Nakhodka in the Primorye Territory, the report said. It will join other S-400 regiments deployed in the Moscow Region and in the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad.

The S-400 Triumf is a new generation of air defence and theater anti-missile weapon system having a maximum range of up to 400 km and an altitude of 30 km. The system uses a range of missiles, optimized for engaging ballistic and cruise missiles and hypersonic vehicles.

The weapon can simultaneously engage up to six aerial targets, including aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cruise and ballistic missiles.

An S-400 air defence regiment consists of two or three battalions equipped with four systems each.

Russia plans to deploy at least 28 regiments of the S-400 system by 2020, the report said.