Russia denies selling S-400 missile system to China

According to Voice of Russia, a representative of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) said that Russia has not signed a contract to supply S-400 missile systems to China.

According to the representative of this Agency, the issue of supplying new Russian missiles to China has not yet been resolved.

Earlier, the Russian newspaper "Vedomosti" reported, citing sources in the Russian defense-industrial complex and the Russian Ministry of Defense, that the Russian state-owned Rosoboronexport and the Chinese Ministry of Defense signed a contract for the supply of modern S-400 Triumph air defense missile systems.

According to the article, the contract to supply S-400 to China was signed in early Fall 2014. With this contract, Russia will sell China at least 6 S-400 battalions, worth more than 3 billion USD.

In recent years, China has repeatedly expressed interest in modern Russian air defense missile systems. In 2012, the media first reported that China wanted to buy the S-400 system from Russia.

In case Moscow and Beijing sign a contract, China could receive the first S-400 complex from 2017, after Almaz-Antey completes contracts to supply this modern air defense weapon line to the Russian army.

Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing the export of the S-400 to China. In July, Russian President’s Chief of Staff Sergey Ivanov confirmed that Beijing would be the first foreign customer to receive the S-400.

In a news report broadcast in early 2013, Voice of Russia quoted the General Director of Rosoboronexport as saying that countries were lining up until 2021 to buy the S-400 missile system.

It is known that the S-400 Triumph is an advanced air defense missile system, developed by Russia since the 1990s and officially completed the national testing phase in 2004.

Inheriting the best of the already famous S-300 air defense missile product line, the S-400 is designed to destroy targets flying at low and very low altitudes. Combining radar technology, missile design... ensures the ability to deal with flying vehicles using stealth technology.

The system can also operate in heavy interference environments and is capable of neutralizing enemy active/passive jamming devices.

With its power, the S-400 is capable of intercepting medium- and long-range ballistic missiles (range up to 3,500km).

The S-400 can also intercept ballistic missiles with a flight speed of up to 5,000 m/s; the firing range is doubled, the height of the control space is increased by 1.5 times; the combat efficiency of the complex is increased by 2.5 times...

This complex is also capable of dealing with valuable flying targets such as: AWACS, electronic countermeasures aircraft, stealth aircraft...

Another special feature is that the S-400 is highly mobile, automated, and has a short transition time. In addition, the S-400's design is open to ensure future upgrades and integration with older generations of air defense missiles. Thanks to the application of new technology in manufacturing, the number of soldiers operating the S-400 complex is halved compared to the latest version S-300PMU2, but combat capabilities have increased significantly.

According to Chinhphu.vn