China is the first country to own Russia's S-400 missiles.

China has become the first country in the world to purchase the most modern S-400 air defense missile system from Russia, said Anatoly Isaykin, General Director of Russia's arms import-export corporation Rosoboronexport, on April 13.

Details of the sales contract between the two countries have not been disclosed, but according to Mr. Isaykin, this contract demonstrates the strategic importance of Russia-China bilateral relations.

S-400 missile. (Source: AFP/VNA)

Mr. Isaykin also said that many countries want to buy the S-400, but first priority must be given to supplying the Russian Ministry of Defense. After expanding production, Almaz-Altey can export the S-400 abroad.

The S-400 air defense missile system, designed by the NPO Almaz missile design bureau, is a mobile, high-altitude strategic anti-aircraft missile system capable of detecting targets at a distance of 400 km and at an altitude of 40-50 km. The S-400 is a version of the S-300 high-altitude missile system but with superior features.

Called a high-altitude missile system, the S-400 is actually a multi-range missile complex that can destroy enemy flying objects at a distance of 5-400km and ballistic missiles at a distance of 60km, and can shoot down targets such as aircraft at an altitude of 27km and low-flying targets only 5-10m above the ground. These are features that no other air defense missile system in the world currently has.

On the same day, the head of Rosoboronexport also hoped that within the next two months, Moscow could negotiate with Paris about transferring Mistral-class warships to Russia.

According to Mr. Isaykin, Rosoboronexport is ready for any situation that may arise, and believes that the two countries will find a compromise to resolve the case without court intervention or any harsh actions.

In 2011, France signed a contract to build two modern Mistral-class helicopter carriers for Russia with a total value of 1.2 billion euros (equivalent to 1.6 billion USD); the first ship was expected to be delivered to Moscow in October or at the latest in November last year, the remaining ship was to be delivered in 2015.

However, in early September 2014, France set a condition that it would only hand over the Mistral-class warships to Russia when there was a long-term ceasefire agreement and a political agreement in Ukraine was guaranteed./.

According to VNA