MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. The crews of the latest S-400 Triumf air defense missile systems assumed combat duty in the Primorye Region in the Russian Far East, the press office of the Eastern Military District for the Pacific Fleet reported on Friday.

"Today, the combat crews of an air defense missile regiment from an air defense large unit of the Eastern Military District assumed combat duty in the Primorye Region," the press office said in a statement.

"The S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile complexes were deployed on the positions to protect the Primorye airspace," the statement says.

The air defense regiment earlier operated S-300 missile systems, which had proven their worth as reliable air defense systems.

The new hardware allows detecting air targets at a distance of over 600 km and multiply surpasses the combat efficiency of air defense systems produced by foreign countries.

Russia’s S-400 Triumf is the latest long-range antiaircraft missile system that went into service 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 missiles capable of destroying targets in outer space had started arriving for the S-400 systems.

According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, S-400 air defense systems will also assume combat duty in the Leningrad Region in northwest Russia on December 22.