KALININGRAD, August 19. /TASS/. Air defense troops of Russia’s Baltic Fleet have started drills in the westernmost Kaliningrad Region to repel a missile strike against military and civilian facilities, the Fleet’s press office reported on Monday.
"Under scheduled combat training measures, the drills involve the crews of S-400 ‘Triumf’ surface-to-air missile systems and Pantsyr S-1 anti-aircraft missile/gun launchers of the Fleet’s air defense large unit," the press office said in a statement.
The S-400 combat teams will practice assignments to deploy their systems, search for, classify and track training targets and subsequently perform electronic launches of surface-to-air missiles against a notional enemy’s cruise missiles, the statement says.
"In turn, the Pantsyr S-1 crews will stealthily make a march to the training ground to live-fire guns against the targets that simulate air attack weapons," the press office said.
During the drills, the Fleet’s radio-technical forces outfitted with the latest radar stations and automatic control systems will accomplish procedures within the required time limits to deploy radars, detect air targets and transmit the relevant data to the command post of the air defense missile force.
The drills involve over 200 personnel and more than 20 items of military and special hardware, the statement says.
Russia’s S-400 ‘Triumf’ (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is the latest long-and medium-range surface-to-air 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 400 km and at an altitude of up to 30 km under intensive enemy fire and jamming.
Russia’s state armament program stipulates the purchase of 56 S-400 battalions by 2020, which will allow re-arm 28 Russian two-battalion surface-to-air missile regiments. By now, the Russian Army has deployed 53 S-400 battalions in 23 regiments and two training centers.
The Pantsyr-S is a short-to medium-range weapon designated to strike air targets with automatic anti-aircraft guns and missiles with radio-command guidance and infrared and radar tracking. As its specific feature, the weapon combines the multi-channel target acquisition and tracking system and the missile/artillery armament designated to strike targets at an altitude of up to 15 km and within a range of 20 km.