Did Russia Lose A Batch Of Top-Of-The-Line S-400 Surface-To-Air Missile Systems When The Ship That Was Carrying Them Lost Them In A Storm?

I asked Rostec CEO Chemezov about S-400 deliveries to China and if it included 40N6 interceptors. He said it did, but a storm struck the ship that was delivering the missiles and destroyed all of them. Almaz-Antey, Rostec’s S-400 producer, is now making replacements for China. pic.twitter.com/Iy8YKzzRCx

— Steve Trimble (@TheDEWLine) February 18, 2019

Warzone/The Drive: Is A Batch Of Russia's Most Advanced Surface To Air Missiles Sitting On The Sea Floor?

A Russian official confirmed an entire shipment of top-of-the-line interceptors for the S-400 surface-to-air missile system never made it to China.

Russia has confirmed that it did indeed sell long-range 40N6 surface-to-air missiles to China as part of a sale of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems. At the same time, the Russians have revealed that none of those interceptors ever reached their destination after the ship carrying them got caught in a storm that resulted in the loss of the entire shipment, possibly with some of the missiles physically going overboard into the sea.

On Feb. 18, 2019, Sergei Chemezov, the CEO of the state-owned industrial conglomerate Rostec, which includes the state-run arms broker Rosoboronexport, offered up the new information at a press conference at the 2019 International Defense Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) in the United Arab Emirates. Aviation Week’s Defense Editor and our good friend Steve Trimble Tweeted out a full transcript of the exchange.

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WNU Editor: There is huge global demand for these missiles, with orders backed-up till 2025 (see link here).