MOSCOW, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- A Russian official said Monday the country is planning to deploy a second regiment outfitted with S-400 air defense systems by the year's end.
Col. Gen. Yuri Solovyov, head of the Russian Air Force Special Command, said the new S-400 Triumf -- or Growler -- air defense system will guard airspace around Moscow and other industrial zones, RIA Novosti reported Monday.
"We are planning to put a second S-400 regiment on combat duty in the Moscow Region by the end of 2008," Solovyov said.
The first regiment equipped with the S-400 was deployed last year after the first successful live firing tests of the system at the Kapustin Yar firing range in Russia's southern Astrakhan Region.
The S-400 is designed to intercept and destroy airborne targets up to 250 miles away -- more than twice the distance that can be covered by the U.S. MIM-104 Patriot system.
