China Wraps up S-400 Air Defence System Tests

China has successfully completed testing of the S-400 air defence system after intercepting an airborne target by a missile fired from the system it acquired from Russia.

The test-firing conducted last December was the second such test. Completing the tests would mean that the S-400 system should be ready for deployment, TASS reported Thursday.

"The second test was carried out in December last year at a Chinese firing ground. The 48N6E missile fired by the system’s launcher hit an aerodynamic target [simulating an aircraft] at a range of 250km, flying at a speed of more than 600 meters per second. The S-400 trial program has been completed, no other test firings are being planned at the moment," TASS quoted a Chinese military source as saying.

Russia’s S-400 Triumph is the latest long-and medium-range surface-to-air missile system that went into service in 2007. It is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles and can also be used against ground installations. The S-400 can engage targets at a distance of up to 400 km and at an altitude of up to 30 km under intensive enemy fire and electronic countermeasures.