Iraq to purchase Russia's S-400 missile systems

MOSCOW, May 15. /TASS/. The Iraqi government has made a decision to purchase the S-400 missile systems from Russia, Iraqi Ambassador to Moscow Haidar Mansour Hadi said at a press conference following the eighth meeting of the Russian-Iraqi intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation held in Baghdad on April 23-25.

"As for the missile defense systems, the government has made a decision, it wants to purchase the S-400," he said.

The S-400 Triumf (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is the most advanced long-range anti-aircraft missile system that went into service in 2007. It is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range ones, and can also be used against ground objectives. The S-400 system can engage targets at a distance of 400 km and at an altitude of up to 35 km.