Are Russia’s Lethal S-400 SAMs Equipped with the Latest Long-Range Missiles?

Guy Plopsky

Security,

Perhaps it is premature to designate the airspace with a 400km radius of a S-400 system a no-fly zone.

When Moscow deployed one of its advanced S-400 Surface-to-Air (SAM) system to Syria following the shoot down of a Russian Su-24 strike aircraft by a Turkish F-16 in late November 2015, both Russian and Western media sources were quick to note that the system is capable of engaging targets at ranges of up to 400km (250 mile) thanks to a new long-range missile known as the 40N6. Similar assertions were made following subsequent deployments of S-400 systems to Kaliningrad and Crimea. Yet, more than a year after the deployment to Syria, there is little evidence to suggest that the 40N6 is in fact operational.