Russia deploys more S-400 air defense missiles in western exclave

MOSCOW, March 15 (Xinhua) -- 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 Friday.

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.

The Baltic Fleet is headquartered in Kaliningrad sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania, and the strategically important exclave is a hot spot for the confrontation of Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The S-400 system, designed and manufactured by Russia's Almaz-Antey arms manufacturer, is considered the most advanced of its kind in Russia, capable of destroying targets at a distance of up to 400 km and a height of about 30 km.

Russia started mass production of the system in 2007 and deployed the first batch of missiles in the Moscow Region in the same year.