The first fire unit of the new 9K317M Buk-M3 SAM system, developed and manufactured by the Almaz-Antey Corp has been delivered.
It was taken on strength by the Russian Land Forces in early November, together with two units of the less-advanced Buk-M2. This has been revealed on 27 October by the Russian deputy defence minister, Yury Borisov, responsible for all new arms procurement programmes.
Vyacheslav Lapin, director general of the Ulyanovsk Mechanical Plant, the Almaz-Antey subsidiary which produces the systems, added that both the Buk-M3 and Buk-M2 fire units have successfully passed the acceptance testing.
The Buk-M3 has longer