Advanced missile launcher that strikes fear into hearts of US pilots foiled by icy Russian roads after multi-car pileup (VIDEO)

It might already have wowed analysts with its ability to blow warplanes out of the sky, but one Russian army driver has carried out an impromptu test of the S-400 mobile missile launcher’s airbags, rear-ending a fellow motorist.

On Thursday, footage emerged from the Moscow region of what was reported to be the advanced weapons system having plowed into the back of a van belonging to the military traffic police, which in turn collided with the car in front. Several vehicles were caught in the resulting pile up.

The S-400 has been described by military commentators as “arguably the best strategic surface-to-air missile systems in operation today.” A number of countries have scrambled to secure shipments of the defensive weapon from Moscow, including Belarus, India, and Turkey.

However, the Russian-made launcher has been aggressively lobbied against by the US, and Washington has imposed sanctions on nations just for placing orders for it. Even Istanbul found that its status as a NATO member didn’t spare it from America’s fury when it announced a deal was on the cards.

Pentagon officials have previously warned that the launcher is so dangerous that it poses a threat to its warplanes even in the hands of a friendly nation. “You cannot operate an F-35 in the vicinity of an S-400,” General Tod Wolters of the US European Command said, insisting that the launcher would “attempt to exploit the F-35’s capabilities.”

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