Asia Times:
The People’s Liberation Army Daily ran a photo feature last week that sheds light on the force’s deployment and trial of the S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile system bought from Russia.
Photographs showed artillerymen assigned to a surface-to-air missile brigade under the PLA’s Northern Theater Command preparing the installation of S-300 missiles, designed to counter aircraft and cruise missiles, during a drill in northern China last month. Other troops are seen operating a sling cart to lift and load the S-300 missiles and then firing them at mock aerial targets. The report noted that the brigade’s primary duty was to fend off incoming missiles threatening the Chinese capital and its neighboring municipality of Tianjin.
The S-300 was first designed by the Soviet Union to defend large industrial and administrative facilities and military bases against enemy strike aircraft. It is is regarded as one of the most potent anti-aircraft missile systems operational anywhere in the world. China was the first non-Russian buyer of S-300 missiles.
