The latest air defense system S-500 ("Prometheus") has already been launched into serial production, said Yan Novikov, general director of the company that develops and produces this complex, RIA Novosti reported.

"Serial production of the S-500 system using the latest achievements of domestic science and technology has now been organized. The combat capabilities of this system significantly exceed the capabilities of previously created systems. S-500 is capable of becoming the basis of the system of anti-missile defense of Russia. It will be supplied to the troops within the time frame specified by the state defense order," he said in an interview to the National Defense magazine.

S-500 belongs to a new generation of surface-to-air SAMs. It is a versatile long-range and high-altitude interception system with enhanced missile defense capabilities. The S-500 has a defensive radius of about 600 kilometers.