MOSCOW. Oct 24 (Interfax) - A battalion of S-400 air defense missile systems and a battery of Pantsir-S air defense missile and artillery systems of the Russian Aerospace Forces have been deployed to Serbia for taking part in a drill in a foreign territory for the first time, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
"Russian crews of S-400 air defense missile systems and Pantsir-S air defense missile and artillery systems have been airlifted to Serbia by military transport planes of the Russian Aerospace Forces to take part in the second stage of the Russian-Serbian air defense exercise Slavic Shield 2019," the statement said.
"This is the first time an S-400 battalion and a Pantsir-S battery of the Russian Aerospace Forces will be training in a foreign territory," it said.
The battalion and the battery will be deployed at the Serbian Batajnica Air Base for the exercise period. They will join the Russian-Serbian air defense group to practice protection of the designated area, the statement said.
Russian and Serbian air defense units will track, lock, classify, and hit the entire range of airborne targets of a mock enemy during the drill.
This is the first Slavic Shield exercise. It consists of two stages and trains the interaction and joint engagement of air defense units of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Serbian Air Force and Air Defense.
The first stage of the exercise took place in September at the Russian Aerospace Forces' combat training center in the Astrakhan region. The second stage is taking place in Serbia on October 23-29.