MOSCOW, December 1. /TASS/. A new air defense battalion armed with the most advanced S-400 Triumf missile systems will go on combat duty in the middle of next week to defend Moscow and Russia’s Central Industrial District, the Defense Ministry’s press office reported on Friday.

The new air defense missile battalion is expected to assume combat duty in the town of Elektrostal outside Moscow on December 6-7, the ministry said.

The S-400 Triumf is the most advanced long-range antiaircraft missile system that went into service in Russia in 2007. It is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range missiles, and can also be used against ground objectives.

The S-400 can engage targets at a distance of 400 km and at an altitude of up to 30 km.

Russian Aerospace Force Deputy Commander-in-Chief Viktor Gumyonny said in April that the troops started to receive missiles for S-400 systems capable of destroying targets in outer space.