China Signs Acceptance Certificate for Russian S-400 Air Defence Systems

China has signed a certificate accepting the first batch of Russia-made S-400 Air Defence Systems which were delivered to Beijing in May this year.

"Last week, an acceptance certificate was signed for the first batch of S-400 systems that was delivered from Russia by sea in May 2018. The systems passed over to China’s ownership once the documents was signed," TASS quoted an unnamed source as saying.

Russia’s Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation did not comment on this information, TASS said.

China has become the first foreign buyer of the S-400 system and will receive two batches. The contract was signed in 2014 and delivery of the first batch was scheduled in 2017.

However an accident at sea abroad the ship that was transporting the missile systems prompted Russia to delay the delivery.

Some reports have said that China has already deployed the S-400 systems to watch over skies in the South China Sea, an area which has seen increased activity of the United States Navy and Air Force.

Manufactured by state-owned Almaz Antey, S-400 system, also called ‘Triumf’ can target aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles besides surface targets up to a range of up to 400 kilometers and tactical ballistic targets flying at a speed of 4.8 km per second at a distance of up to 60 kilometers.