ZHUHAI /China/, November 7. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS) believes that it will be economically viable to set up a maintenance center for S-300 and S-400 missile systems in China, FSVTS head Dmitry Shugaev told reporters.

"Considering that China continues to operate S-300 missile systems and given the delivery of new S-400 systems, the creation of a center for the after-sale support of the long-range defense systems would be logical and economically feasible," he noted.

The agency’s director recalled that a maintenance center for the Tor-M1 air defense missile systems had been established last year. "Projects for full service support of helicopters as well as in the field of aircraft engine building are at different stages of development," he added.

According to the FSVTS chief, China has imported a lot of military hardware made in Russia, which is why the creation of a quality, timely and fully convenient after-sale support center is one of the most important issues on the bilateral agenda.

China is hosting a defense exhibition called Airshow China on November 6-11, where Shugaev is heading the Russian delegation.

S-400 supplies to India

The supplies of the S-400 Triumf missile systems to India will begin in autumn 2020, Shugayev said in an interview with TASS.

"We expect that in line with the agreements reached during the Russian-Indian summit in October the supplies will begin in two years," Shugayev said.

Russian defense equipment manufacturer Almaz-Antey has all the capacity to implement the orders for the Russian Defense Ministry and foreign customers in due time, Shugayev emphasized.

The contract on delivering Russia’s S-400 missile system to India was signed during the October visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to New Delhi. Under the $5bln deal, India will receive five S-400 regimental sets. India will pay for the missile system in rubles.

Russia’s S-400 Triumph (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is the latest long-range anti-aircraft missile system that went into service in 2007. It is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, and can also be used against ground installations. The S-400 can engage targets at a distance of up to 600 km, hit targets at a distance of 400 km and at an altitude of up to 30 km.