MOSCOW: Russia’s advanced S-400 Triumf air defense systems will be displayed for the first time in the May 9 Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square, the defense minister has said.
Victory Day marks the final surrender by Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union at the end of WWII, referred to as the Great Patriotic War in Russia and other former Soviet states.
The parade will involve over 9,000 service personnel, 112 military vehicles and 70 aircraft.
“Last year the S-300 air defense systems took part in the parade for the first time ever, and this year we will show the S-400,” Anatoly Serdyukov said in an interview with the Rossiiskaya Gazeta published on Thursday.
The S-400 Triumf (SA-21 Growler) air defense system is expected to form the new cornerstone of Russia’s theater air and missile defenses up to 2020 or even 2025.
The system is designed to intercept and destroy airborne targets at a distance of up to 400 kilometers (250 miles), twice the range of the U.S. MIM-104 Patriot, and 2 1/2 times that of Russia’s S-300PMU-2.
It is also believed to be able to destroy stealth aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, and is effective at ranges up to 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) and speeds up to 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) per second.
Russia has already deployed two missile regiments equipped with the S-400 system to protect the airspace surrounding Moscow and industrial zones in the center of Russia’s European territory.
