The Russian military has reportedly accepted that a new extended-range interceptor missile, for the acclaimed S-400 air defense system, is ready for service and could be in operational service by the end of August.

The update on the trials of the missile comes from a source in the defense industry cited by TASS news agency. Almaz-Antey, the producer of the S-400 system, declined to comment on the news. The 40N6E is an extended range surface-to-air missile that the S-400 can fire. The projectile can take down targets up to 400 km far, according to open source data.

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There are conflicting reports about whether the missile is capable of engaging high-altitude targets, with some sources claiming it may have maximum altitude of 185km while others saying it is designed with a conservative ceiling of 30km.

The first successful test of the 40N6E was reported in 2015. The S-400 is currently the backbone of Russia’s long-range air defense architecture. The Russian military has been in the process of replacing older S-300 variant with the newer system since 2007. The older missiles that the S-400 can fire has a range of up to 250 km.

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