According to the Aljazeera website, Saudi Arabia has signed an agreement to purchase Russian-made S-400 air defense missile system, it was announced by the Russian President Vladimir Putin during the visit by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to Moscow.
Russian-made S-400 air defense missile battery at Patriotic Park exhibition area near Moscow, Russia
This information was also reported on Thursday, October 5, 2017, by the Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television.
A memorandum of understanding has been reportedly signed to help the kingdom develop its own defense industries, according to the Dubai-based television channel.
The Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has already said Riyadh was showing interest in buying Russian missile systems.
The S-400 becomes now one of the most popular air defense missile system after the purchase by China, India and recently Turkey.
The S-400 Triumph, NATO reporting name SA-21 Growler is a long range surface-to-air missile systems produced by Almaz-Antey. The S-400 Triumph is intended to engage, ECM, radar-picket, director area, reconnaissance, strategic and tactical aircraft, tactical and theatre ballistic missiles, medium-range ballistic missiles and other current and future air attack assets at a maximum range of 400 km, and a altitude of up to 30 km.
Currently, the Saudi air defense units are equipped with 17 HAWK batteries with 120 fixed and land-mobile launchers, 151 SHAHINE fire units, and 11 Patriot fire units using PAC-3 missiles.
