MOSCOW. Dec 25 (Interfax) - The new S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems' entering combat alert in the Primorye territory is logical amid an escalation of tensions surrounding the Korean Peninsula, Vladimir Shamanov, head of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee, told Interfax.
"It is an absolutely clear decision of the state in light the difficult situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula, the situation, which is currently at a high degree of tensions," Shamanov said on the margins of a congress of the United Russia party on Saturday.
He also recalled the stance of the country's leadership that Russia is not going to be involved in the next round of the arms race and will follow the principle of a reasonable sufficiency.
It was reported earlier that new regimental sets of S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft missile systems will be put on combat duty in Vladivostok and the Leningrad region on Friday
"New regimental sets of the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems will be put on combat duty [on December 22] to protect Russia's airspace in the east and west [Vladivostok in the Primorye Territory, and Zelenogorsk in the Leningrad region]," the ministry said in a statement on its website.
The S-400 Triumf long-range air-defense system was designed and built by Almaz-Antey for the highly efficient destruction of strategic and tactical aircraft, ballistic missiles, hypersonic targets, and other means of aerial attack amid radio-electronic and other types of countermeasures. The system can destroy aerodynamic targets at a range of up to 400 kilometers and hit ballistic targets flying at a speed of up to 4.8 kilometers per second at altitudes from between several meters to several dozen kilometers at a range of 60 kilometers.