The Chinese Army’s combat teams will test-fire Russian-made S-400 missiles supplied instead of missiles damaged during their delivery to China in late December 2017, a source in military and diplomatic circles told TASS on Tuesday.

“The Chinese military are expected to hold tests at one of their practice ranges in the first ten-day period of June to test-launch S-400 ‘Triumf’ missiles, which Russia supplied to China in April instead of damaged missiles. Like in test-firings last year, two missiles are set to be test-launched against a ballistic and an aerodynamic target,” the source said.

TASS does not yet have an official confirmation of this information.

Russia dispatched the first regiment set of S-400 air defense missile systems to China in late December 2017 aboard three ships. However, one of the ships was hit by a severe storm in the English Channel and was forced to return to the port of departure, according to a report by Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation in January 2018. The missiles aboard the ship were damaged by the storm.

Head of Russia’s State Hi-Tech Corporation Rostec Sergei Chemezov said on February 18, 2019, that the damaged missiles had to be destroyed: instead of them, a new batch of missiles would be manufactured and delivered to the customer.

China became the first foreign buyer of Russia’s most advanced S-400 ‘Triumf’ surface-to-air missile systems. Russia signed a contract with China on the delivery of two regiment sets of S-400 air defense missile systems.

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http://tass.com/defense/1061655