The Russian military has reportedly accepted that a new extended-range interceptor missile, for the acclaimed S-400 air defense system, is ready for service and could be in operational service by the end of August.
The update on the trials of the missile comes from a source in the defense industry cited by TASS news agency. Almaz-Antey, the producer of the S-400 system, declined to comment on the news. The 40N6E is an extended range surface-to-air missile that the S-400 can fire. The projectile can take down targets up to 400 km far, according to open source data.
There are conflicting reports about whether the missile is capable of engaging high-altitude targets, with some sources claiming it may have maximum altitude of 185km while others saying it is designed with a conservative ceiling of 30km.
The first successful test of the 40N6E was reported in 2015. The S-400 is currently the backbone of Russia’s long-range air defense architecture. The Russian military has been in the process of replacing older S-300 variant with the newer system since 2007. The older missiles that the S-400 can fire has a range of up to 250 km.
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