Russian ground forces to receive new Iskander-M missile complexes
A military source told Interfax that the rearmament of missile brigades with tactical Iskander-M missile complexes will continue in 2017.
"In the new year, the scheduled rearmament of the missile units from Tochka and Tochka-U to the modern Iskander-M will continue,'' the source said.
Earlier, the head of the missile troops and artillery of the Russian Armed Forces, Lieutenant-General Mikhail Matveyevsky, reported that the rearmament of all existing units with the Iskander-M missile complex will be completed before 2020.
According to the commander, Iskander-M is the best missile system in its class and is able to overcome any missile defense.
"At the present, the Russian enterprises of the military-industrial complex are working on the modernization of the complex in order to increase its combat and operational characteristics," the Lieutenant-General said.
In October, the Defense Ministry said that some units had received the news missiles and that they would be deployed to the Kaliningrad region in the future for military training.
The Iskander-M missile system was developed by the Machine-Building Design Bureau which is part of Russia's JSC NPO Vysokotochnye kompleksy (High Precision Systems) and is capable of hitting targets at a distance of 500 km. There are two types of missiles included in the complex: ballistic and cruise. The system is designed to defeat multiple enemy rocket launchers, missile and air defense systems, aircraft and helicopters on airfields, command posts, and infrastructure.