The press service of the Russian Eastern Military District said on Tuesday that units of Russia’s latest S-300V4 air defense missile system entered combat duty on the Kuril Islands. The S-300V4 is an advanced highly mobile air defense missile system designated to protect vital military and administrative facilities and groupings of forces against strikes by ballistic and aerodynamic air attack weapons. This is the fourth version of the upgraded S-300V battlefield anti-aircraft missile system.
Earlier, Commander of the Eastern Military District’s forces Col. Gen. and the Hero of Russia Gennady Zhidko personally checked readiness to enter combat duty. He highly appreciated coordinated work of units and forces on duty during the drills when a signal was received on Russia’s air border violation.
The Kuril Islands dispute, also known in Japan as the Northern Territories dispute, is a disagreement between Japan and Russia and also some individuals of the Ainu people over sovereignty of the four southernmost Kuril Islands. The Kuril Islands is a chain of islands that stretch between the Japanese island of Hokkaido at the southern end and the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula at the northern end. The islands separate the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean.
The S-300V4 is the latest generation of air defense missile system in the family of S-300V. It entered in service with the Russian army in 2014. Compared to the previous version, the S-300V4 features expanded anti-aircraft, anti-cruise and anti-ballistic missile capabilities. The air defense missile system is more effective in its anti-missile defense capabilities and has the capability to destroy medium-range ballistic missiles. The S-300V4 missile launcher system is mounted on a tracked armored vehicle to increase mobility in all-terrain conditions.
