August 6, 200718 yr From DefenseNews Posted 08/06/07 11:30 Russia Activates Missile System Around Moscow AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, MOSCOW Russia’s long-delayed Triumph anti-aircraft missile system was activated around Moscow on Aug. 6 in an upgrade of the capital’s air defenses, Russian military officials said. "The new anti-aircraft rocket system will defend Moscow’s sky," Interfax news agency cited Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin, chief commander of Russia’s air forces, as saying at an opening ceremony in the Moscow region. An initial anti-aircraft regiment will be followed by a second next year, the director of the Almaz plant that designed the rockets, Igor Ashurbeily, told the news agency ahead of the ceremony. He said the company expected to begin production of the missiles for export in 2009. In mid-July, Russia successfully tested the long-delayed S-400 missiles, also known by their NATO designation SA-21 Growler. The missiles, which were first to be deployed in 2001, are designed to shoot down medium-range ballistic missiles and aircraft from as far away as 250 miles, twice as far as the U.S. Patriot missile.
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