"The S-400 system has been in service with the 18th anti-aircraft missile regiment in Feodosia since last year," he said. "Their military personnel have undergone training. The time has come when [the system] has become fully operational. There are currently two anti-aircraft missile regiments in Crimea, one in Sevastopol, the other one in Feodosia."
In service since 2007, the S-400 Triumf (NATO codename SA-21 Growler) is an anti-aircraft and anti-missile system capable of intercepting all types of modern air weaponry, including fifth-generation warplanes, as well as ballistic and cruise missiles at a maximum range of nearly 250 miles. The complex, comprising up to eight battalions, is reported to be capable of engaging up to 80 targets.
The S-400 is equipped with four types of missiles, including the very-long-range 40N6, which is said to have an operational range of 400 km (nearly 250 miles), the long-range 48N6 missiles (250 km), the medium-range 9M96E2 missiles (120 km) and the short-range 9M96E (40 km).
The S-400 deployment to Crimea is part of a major rearmament plan that has been in place since the Black Sea Peninsula joined Russia following the March 2014 referendum.
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