Russia deploys more S-400 air defense missiles in Kaliningrad enclave.

Russia has deployed another regimental set of the S-400 Triumph air defense missiles in its westernmost exclave of Kaliningrad, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday, March 15. The new set of missiles has been supplied to the Russian Baltic Fleet from the Kapustin Yar test site in the southern Astrakhan Region after successful test launches, a ministry statement said.

5P85T2 TEL for S-400 Triumf missile system at the Victory Day parade 2015 rehearsal (Picture source: Vitaly Kuzmin)

The Baltic Fleet is headquartered in Kaliningrad, a strategic enclave located between Poland and Lithuania. This strategically important exclave is a hot spot for the difficult relation between Russia and NATO.

The S-400 nicknamed Triumf or Triumph (NATO code: SA-21 Growler) is a long range surface-to-air missile systems produced by Almaz-Antey. The S-400 Trumph battery is designed to track and engage simultaneously up to 36 targets at a maximum range of 400 km, and at an altitude of up to 30 km. The S-400 Triumph can also track AWACS aircraft at ranges of up to 400 km.

A regular S-400 battalion reportedly consists of at least eight launchers with 32 missiles and a mobile command post. The principal distinctions between the S-400 and its predecessor lie in further refinements to the radar and software, and the addition of four new missile types in addition to the legacy 48N6E/48N6E2 used in the S-300PMU2 Favorit.

The S-400 entered service with the Russian Armed Forces on April 28, 2007, replacing the S-300 air defense system. The S-400 air defense missile system is combat proven: in November 2015, the deployment of S-400 was reported in Syria, along with the contingent of Russian troops and other military hardware in the course of the air campaign conducted by the Russian forces on the side of the Syrian government.