Russia deploys another S-400 surface-to-air missile system in Crimea
A second division of the Russian S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile system has been deployed near Sevastopol, in the annexed Crimea. The news agency Interfax reports that on Saturday, January 13, the command of the Fourth Air and Air Defense Forces Army provided information on the deployment of another division of the newest Russian surface-to air missile (SAM) systems in the Crimea.
The system will control the airspace over Chonhar and Armyansk on the border with mainland Ukraine. The Kremlin said that the move was prompted by "sabotage activities on the Russian-Ukrainian border." According to the plan, these SAMs should protect not only the territory of the annexed peninsula, but also a significant portion of the Krasnodar Territory.
The Russians deployed the launchers, carried out topography and orienteering of the systems on the ground, and have started the detection and tracking of targets. The set-up time for the system to deploy is less than five minutes.
The S-400 is a Russian anti-aircraft weapon system geared toward large and medium range missiles. The system is capable of defeating aerodynamic targets at a range of up to 400 kilometers, as well as ballistic targets at ranges up to 60 kilometers. The maximum target speed that the system can intercept is 4.8 kilometers per second.
The first division of the S-400 Triumph air defense system entered the arsenal of the Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Sevastopol-Feodosiia Regiment in 2016. It became operational in early 2017.