On April 28, about 80 representatives of the military diplomatic corps from 52 countries of the CIS, Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America accredited in Russia visited the Ashuluk proving ground of the Aerospace Force’s Combat Training and Combat Employment Center in the southern Astrakhan Region. Russian military specialists demonstrated the combat capabilities of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems and Pantsyr-S surface-to-air missile/gun launchers to military attaches.
During a tactical episode that consisted of three stages, the foreign military attaches viewed the specifics of organizing air defense to repel a notional enemy’s missile and air strikes. The combat teams of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems and Pantsyr-S anti-aircraft missile/gun launchers spotted and eliminated all the target missiles that simulated aerodynamic, operational-tactical and tactical ballistic targets, cruise missiles and also ground targets.
The S-400 Triumf (Triumf, NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is an anti-aircraft weapon system developed in the 1990s by Russia’s Almaz Central Design Bureau as an upgrade of the S-300 family. It has been in service with the Russian Armed Forces since 2007. The Pantsir (Carapace) missile system is a family of medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft systems. The Pantsir-S1 (NATO reporting name SA-22 Greyhound) is produced by KBP Instrument Design Bureau of Tula, Russia.
Russia’s Defense Ministry regularly invites foreign military attaches to various events. In 2020, foreign military diplomats attended over 20 events. The largest of them are the Army International Games-2020, the Military-Technical Forum Army-2020, the final stage of the strategic command and staff exercise Kavkaz-2020. As the Russian Defense Ministry stressed, the latest event is a planned measure that is being held to raise transparency of the Russian Army’s activity.
