International Business Times:
Russia has deployed its advanced S-400 missile defense system to the region of Kamchatka in the Far East of Russia, said Pacific Fleet spokesman Roman Martov to pro-Russian news agency Tass on Tuesday. While the sparsely populated area is far from the increasingly hostile warzone of east Ukraine, it does host Russia’s Pacific Fleet of warships and is not far from the U.S. state of Alaska.
“This event was preceded by the crews’ exercises at the Gatchina training aviation and air defense center to assimilate the new weaponry,” said Martov. “Over 200 servicemen from the regiment underwent retraining, after which the combat hardware was accepted from the industry. The entire regiment set of the S-400 air defense missile systems held its first successful firing exercises at the Kapustin Yar state shooting range and was delivered by rail and water transport to Kamchatka.”
The S-400, which is known as a defensive weapon, is one of the most advanced missile systems in the world and is often compared to U.S.-made Patriot system. It can defend against 36 targets simultaneously by launching 72 missiles at once. In recent months Belarus and China have both showed an interest in the hardware, with officials in Beijing becoming the first foreign buyer.
