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Russia’s Northern Fleet air defense troops hold drills with advanced missile systems

The live-fire exercise took place under intensive jamming while the targets simulated an attack by a notional enemy’s aircraft

Arctic Tor-M2DT surface-to-air missile system Olga Smolskaya/TASS

Arctic Tor-M2DT surface-to-air missile system

© Olga Smolskaya/TASS

MOSCOW, June 13. /TASS/. Air defense units of Russia’s Northern Fleet held first live-fire drills at the Kapustin Yar practice range to learn to operate the latest Arctic Tor-M2DT surface-to-air missile systems, the Defense Ministry of Russia reported on Thursday.

"Today, the first live-fire exercise was held at the Kapustin Yar practice range in the Astrakhan Region to learn to fire the Tor-M2DT air defense missile system against air targets. The Northern Fleet’s personnel who have undergone re-training on the premises of the (Ground Forces’ air defense) training center have performed anti-aircraft missile launches," the ministry said in a statement.

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The live-fire exercise took place under intensive jamming while the targets simulated an attack by a notional enemy’s aircraft, the statement says.

"During the live-fire exercise, the systems’ crews destroyed all the fast-moving maneuvering targets launched from various directions and flying at minimum and maximum altitudes," the ministry specified.

After the operational readiness drills are over, the air defense personnel will return to their permanent bases and assume combat duty together with the new anti-aircraft missile systems.

The Arctic Tor-M2DT surface-to-air missile system has been developed using a two-section prime mover for its employment in the Arctic and the Extreme North and is capable of operating at a temperature of minus 50 degrees Celsius. The new system comprises 16 surface-to-air vertically launched missiles with a striking range of up to 12 km and an altitude range of up to 10,000 meters. The upgraded target detection station is capable of spotting aircraft based on stealth technology.

The latest system was unveiled at the Victory Day Parade in Moscow’s Red Square on May 9, 2018. It was reported in November 2018 that the Russian troops had received the first 12 Tor-M2DT serial-produced air defense systems.

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