S-500 'Prometheus' and S-550 missile systems

RV warheads from the SLBM missile has the same speed as the RV from the ICBM missile. The current SLBMs are ICBMs only fired from a submarine, have a continental range and a speed of over 7 km / s when go through the atmosphere.

The 7km/s intercept speed capacity of the S-500 is only needed to intercept ICBMs and SLBMs in space.

The speed of the RV is determined by its flight range, which varies with payload... light payload means longer range and higher speed, heavier payload means lower speed and shorter range.

The passage through the atmosphere is short, the loss of speed is small.

Drag is proportional to speed so just moving your arms around you can feel the air around you but it does not really restrict your ability to move your hands around you because you are incapable of moving them fast enough for drag to matter.

You can change this by putting your hand out the car window while the car is driving... you obviously feel the wind and the force on your hand much more and would struggle to hold a large light object in that slip stream like a sheet of wood or polystyrene.

Equally putting your hand in a denser medium like water can have the same effect at much lower speeds so you really do feel drag slow your hand and your ability to move your hand and arms and body immersed in water.

The increased density of water allows you to experience what air would feel like at enormous speeds... you could imagine your hand or a stone skimming off the surface of water at certain angles and speeds, but it is harder to imagine for a layer of air because most people can't imagine what it would be like being outside the layer of air.

A bullet is moving at enormous speeds in air could be stopped by a mere two metres of water... lower velocity bullets are less effected than very high velocity bullets so an AK-74 5.45mm bullet would stop in 2-3m of water and be non lethal, while a subsonic 9mm pistol bullet might still have the energy to kill you at that distance.

You could design RVs that don't slow down very much in the atmosphere but they would look like APFSDS rods with no space for a warhead ... let alone the ability to refine its trajectory to hit a point target accurately...

The HGV warhead, i.e. Avangard, may have a greater loss of speed in the terminal phase, because it performs most of the flight at the border with the atmosphere and in the atmosphere, but of course it maneuvers along the entire trajectory.

Avangard is believed to be powered and reportedly sped up from mach 25 to mach 27 inside the atmosphere.

Satellite time is available for S-400 as well but only with GLONASS.

GLONASS is a navigation satellite network and could not detect targets nor pass target information to a ground based SAM system.

You would need a dedicated radar equipped satellite system with radar pointed in a suitable direction to detect incoming threats from space to link to your SAM sites.

Russia had various such satellites for their Legenda system and its replacement but they are oriented for detecting ships and naval traffic for the use of anti ship missiles from platforms out of direct line of sight of their targets rather than ballistic targets for SAMs to deal with.

China and India might not be able to use their own satellite constellation.

China and India would probably be using them against each other or in the case of China against South Korea and Japan so they would not need the extra range coverage a satellite network would provide.

I suspect PAC-3 needs satellite support because set up time and engagements are slower so the target needs to be detected and identified as a target while it is further away.

In the past under the buy back option Indian Su 30s were bought and replaced with the Su 30MKI. India is purchasing 5 regiments of the S-400, so Russia can do something similar right now by deciding to export at least 2 regiments of the S-500 after exporting the first 3 regiments of the S-400.

They probably could but they shouldn't.

The S-500 is not a replacement for S-400... it is an extension...

The S-500 would be more useful when used together with S-400 and other smaller cheaper missiles.

It is not like say Tochka-U and Iskander... their performance and costs were very very similar so it made sense to withdraw the shorter ranged Tochka-U when there were enough Iskanders because they weren't much more expensive but had double the range with similar accuracy and payload.

The S-400 and S-500 is more like 300mm Smerch and Iskander.... they are totally different in terms of the roles you would use them for and would compliment each other so you would use both rather than one or the other.

It good that murkans are such arrogant fools. It was positively delicious watching those fools squirm and rage as the Talibs embarrassed them.

The fact of the matter is that if the roles were reversed and it was the Russians leaving Afghanistan now the west would be doing everything they could to help the Taliban turn it into a blood bath for Russians and the Afghans trying to leave...

And the west claims the moral and ethical superiority...

Yeah bro our hopelessly corrupt oligarchs are ten times better than their equally corrupt oligarchs. Ours put gay flags on our embassies.

To be fair all oligarchs are ass holes, but Putin seems to keep Russian ones in line for the benefit of the Russian people.

The problem for us in the west is that our oligarchs are totally in charge no questions asked... you just have to look at the track records of the last dozen US presidents... they all try to start new wars or keep existing wars going because that is profitable for those who actually control things in the west... and the control both sides so it does not matter who you vote for...

I can understand people burying their heads in the sand... less frustrating than confronting reality...

But not very practical and allowing them to continue doing what they are doing.

Regarding MALD, while not cheap, in large enough quantities they should be useful decoys for larger aircraft and in swarms they would have extreme jamming power. Have the russians figured out how to destroy MALD swarms of jammers while simultaneously destroying swarms of cruise missiles, AWACs tankers, and stealth fighters?

You call it a swarm but the number of platforms needed to seed this swarm can be target number one before the swarm even forms, and to deal with large numbers of targets they have something called an Integrated Air Defence System that includes sensors and missiles and guns and aircraft with missiles and guns and even now drones with missiles that with management and C4IRSTAR can actually deal with an enormous threat the most efficient way possible, while at the same time directing their own attacks on the enemy who launched this attack on them to damage or destroy them before a second attack could be mounted. Their enemies don't have IADS so their attack will be orders of magnitude more effective because they use vulnerable air based platforms for both attack and defence so when half are destroyed supporting the attack when they switch to defence those assets will be missing from the start leaving enormous holes Russia can exploit.

Also Russian AWACS is pretty crappy, still using a mechanically scanned array. its probably far inferior to S-400 radar or even Zaslon M. Its very important for fighters not to have their radar turned on at all too.

Russian AWACS are gap fillers that fill holes in their OTH radar coverage which is pretty comprehensive and complete.

Container radars in Russia were able to detect US F-35 fighters flying along the border between Iran and Iraq... they have a range of between 4 and 6 thousand kilometres but are no good for the first 1,000km or so... but they are located more than 1,000km inland making them rather difficult targets because you have to cross about 1,000km of Russian air defence systems to get to them, and for western planes they can spot you at 4,000km range....

But yeah, their current AWACS aircraft use mechanically scanned arrays.

Now that the INF treaty is gone I wonder if they will consider taking one stage off their ICBMs or using land based SLBMs as IRBMs for use against the Middle East, the Pacific and of course the EU...

I guess you don't understand each other.
By GPS time, he means the excuse provided for the failure of PAC2 in the Gulf War.
Remember that?

That was before the internet here in New Zealand... we only found out what our media would tell us and they were cut and paste for the BBC and CNN...

So what are the systems (missiles, radars, sensors etc) needed to extend an existing S-400 into a S-500?

The S-400 will come with all the missiles and radars and systems to do its job.

The radars and sensors for S-500 might replace some of the sensors for the S-400 because they are optimised for continuous use for long periods which is a very useful thing for such SAM systems, and some of the radar for S-500 will also look further and higher because S-500 missiles can reach further and much higher, which the S-400 didn't need but would benefit from.

It is likely not the case that adding a few radars and a few missiles to S-400 will make it as effective as both, but the S-500 will be optimised for engaging very specific targets... it makes no sense wasting S-500 missiles on shooting down F-35s, but it would be worth using it against AWACS and B-2 type aircraft because the west does not have hundreds of these aircraft and the effect of taking a few of them out would be enormous...

They might be kept out of range of S-400 but they might not be sure what S-500s max range against large slow low g targets actually is... it might be 800km or even more for all we know with a lofted trajectory that might take it out into space for a bit.... to reach mach 7 plus targets and to hit targets in space like satellites and ICBMs and SLBMs it might have a practical range of over 3,000km for all we know and it would need its own self contained guidance system to see satellites and RVs from the distances it would need to be able to manouver into their path... ie 14km range sensors means you would detect the target 1 second before impact if both are moving at 7kms which likely wont be enough.

S-500 has better ABM missiles.

I would say S-500 has ABM missiles, while S-400 is ATBMs... or anti theatre ballistic missiles.

S-500 is much more akin to S-300V than S-400.

The S-300V is different from the S-300P and S-300F because the army (V) is more interested in shooting down enemy ballistic missiles like Honest John and other theatre based ballistic missiles than most aircraft... though the S-300V can certainly deal with a range of targets it is more focussed on high speed targets.

The S-300P is an air force weapon optimised for shooting down aircraft and munitions and cruise missiles etc etc.

The S-300F is the Navy missile that is based on the Air Force F model missile and didn't get a lot of development because there was no money.

I rather suspect the Navy will up their game with new missiles for S-350 and S-400 (evolved from S-300) and S-500 for use at sea.

The S-400 will be used by the Russian AF and Navy and will likely operate with S-350 as well as S-500s too.

In many situations the S-500 might not even get fired because smaller lighter cheaper missiles are more suited to that target... much the same way the S-400 and S-300 are not being used in Syria but the situational awareness their radars provide makes them very valuable assets in the region anyway.

Missiles meant for S-500 cannot be used by the S-400.

The S-500 is supposed to be used together with the S-500 when there is a significant ballistic missile threat... ie major cities, major ports, major air bases (like strategic bomber air bases to defend from SLBM sneak attacks etc), they would likely be on capital ships.

The S-500 is not a replacement for S-400.

F-35s, B-2 can be intercepted with S-400 itself, maybe even S-350. Targeting them with S-500 will be an overkill.

With there being 500 F-35s already it is not worth it to target them, but with only 19 B-2s and considering their role... if they stray into range of an S-500 regiment they will certainly take the shot.

But S-500 will focus on targets the S-400 and other systems can't deal with like low flying satellites and ICBM and SLBM warheads in space.

Technically it wouldn't be that hard to integrate the S-500 missiles into the S-400 system. They are already designed to work under an integrated air defense anyway. In fact, I would say that you only need to attach an S-500 canister and its radar system to the S-400 to turn it into sort of a downgraded, 'export version' S-500. Sure, not as effective as Garry said, but the capability to do so is there.

Most Soviet and Russian SAMs are backwards compatible so a KUB can operate with a BUK battery (SA-6 with SA-11/17/etc), and an S-300P can operate with an S-300PM or PMU battery... the first PMU batteries probably replaced the old sensors and systems with the new PMU systems and used many of the older missiles... because they already had them.

We know that the search radar for the S-500 is much better than the search radar for the S-400 so the S-500 search radar will likely replace the S-400 search radar in both S-400 and older batteries... there is probably a lot of other equipment from the S-500 battery that has been improved and could replace equipment on the S-400 battery and make it better, but rather than add one TEL with two S-500 missiles to an S-400 battery it makes more sense to add an S-500 battery to an S-400 regiment, which would add essentially a dedicated ABM component to the air defence system.

The S-500 is an equivalent of the THAAD system

It's not there to be used against F-35s or whatever. It's complementary to the S-400, providing a different layer of protection essentially.

It is an equivalent in role, but not in performance... the S-400 is already better than THAAD and PAC-2 Patriot and PAC-3 Patriot all rolled in to one system.

Is not. The S 500 system has no counterparts. The range of targets is much larger than that of THAAD. Plus, it probably has ASAT capabilities. It can also capture an RV with an ICBM. It's something between tactical and strategic ABM and highly mobile.

You are right but so is he... S-500 is like PAC-3 Patriot and THAAD and SM-3 and their Ground based interceptor all rolled in to one, but their older systems like S-300V and S-400 and even S-350 are more capable than PAC-3 and THAAD.

S-500 has not equivalents... there is a group of US missiles that together could do the same job, but no one system that could do everything it does at once.

Why should S-500 take the shot? To target these aircraft there is the Viking ADMS.

Because Viking is an upgraded BUK with a range of about 75km, while S-500 is a strategic SAM with a range of about 600km or perhaps more... when an OTH radar detects a flight of B-2s they are likely carrying nuclear bombs to destroy cities in Russia so it is worth while destroying them at max range... they wont get anywhere near Russia till well after most of the ICBMs and SLBMs have been engaged so it is not like they will be busy with anything else anyway.

It would be like a MiG-31 launching R-37Ms at B-52s... if it detected an F-22 it would make sense to try to kill that with a missile because an F-22 could do a lot of damage to MiG-31s if it got close enough because MiG-31s are not designed to dog fight. B-52s and B-2s could be chased down by a MiG-31 and gunned down easily enough but an F-22 would be rather more of a problem to gun down for the MiG.

The MiGs would be better off running away from F-22s and calling in Su-35s and Su-57s to destroy the F-22s.

Obviously in an ideal world you would use the correct tool for the job but when a target of opportunity pops up then you take a chance when the rewards are significant.... like shooting down an AWACS or inflight refuelling aircraft could have an effect way beyond just destroying that aircraft... either might be a core part of a mission that can now no longer go ahead when they are downed...

I guess you don't understand each other.
By GPS time, he means the excuse provided for the failure of PAC2 in the Gulf War.
Remember that?

PAC2 does not have an IADS link... the time discrepancy was between the different components like the search radar and the tracking system and the engagement management system all being out of sync.

(They did not expect them to be operating 24/7 for weeks at a time like they did in Desert Storm... they were expecting to set up and provide cover for a force but then when that force moved shut down and pack up and move and then start up again somewhere else.)

It didn't need a precise time, it just needed a consistent time. It wouldn't matter if PAC2 battery number one was 2 minutes ahead of PAC2 battery number two 300km away... it was that the missile control system was using times from different components that were not synced up so for instance the search radar detected a threat and passed the target information to the tracking radar to get a lock but when the tracking radar started scanning the small piece of air space the search radar told it to look for the target the target was not there.

Another obvious problem was with fusing... when a high speed Patriot missile blows past a target like an aircraft moving at subsonic speeds and explodes when it is level the target is shredded with fragments and is destroyed.

When the target is a modified Scud missile with a souped up engine falling mach 3 faster than it was designed to be moving at because of the extra flight range from the extra fuel then you have a high speed Patriot blowing past a high speed target moving at say mach 5 or 6 and so the fragments from the explosion shred the rear end of the missile instead of centre of mass.

Against a normal plane that would not matter because you cut the tail off a plane and it crashes anyway, but a falling rocket... the mid body is now empty fuel and oxygen tanks and the rear is the rocket motors and pump systems... but you could cut those off completely at this stage of flight where the missile is falling on its target... the loss of drag would just make the warhead fall faster.

So problems with the fusing meant the tails and engines are shredded but the missiles still hit their targets anyway.

Another problem with the extra fuel in the Scuds to maximise their range is that they didn't redesign them structurally to take the forces from the higher speeds, so often as they came down on their target they would break up anyway leading to the engines and fuel tanks separating from the warhead... well being a radar guided missile the Patriot naturally went for the biggest bit and hit the engines and fuel tanks and ignored the warheads.

It is not something you can fault the makers of Patriot for, it was never intended for such targets to be engaged with this missile so of course it would have problems, and fuse issues against targets it was never intended to deal with are again hardly a design fault... more a design requirement fault.

Keep in mind that the S-300F and S-300V and S-300P all had some capacity to engage high speed ballistic targets... the S-300V had the best capability to start with, but by 1990 all three had some capacity to destroy Scud and improved Scud like targets.

So what are the systems (missiles, radars, sensors etc) needed to extend an existing S-400 into a S-500?

Think of it as being a drill. S-400 is a full set of drill bits and sanders and jigsaw attachments... most of the time S-500 would not be of any use. S-500 might be a special attachment for your drill that allows you to use it as a line trimmer for tidying up edges in your garden, so it has a very specific and specialist use.

In Syria for instance the ballistic threats are from Turkey and Iraq (US) and Israel or from the med so the S-500 would be unnecessary for the Russian forces there.

In Vladivostok they would not need S-500 to protect from new US IRBMs in Japan or South Korea or Chinese missiles, but they would be useful for dealing with SLBMs and ICBMs from the US subs and mainland respectively.

Missiles meant for S-500 cannot be used by the S-400.

They could probably be used on the S-400 system but they couldn't be used to their performance potential because the S-400 does not have the same radars.

A bit like putting an R-77 on a Ka-52K helicopter... it can find targets and launch the missile but in this case the lower flight altitude and flight speed at launch will reduce flight range and distance it can engage targets.

With the S-400 firing S-500 missiles the S-500 will be able to reach further and higher than S-400 missiles but not as far or as high as the S-500 fired by an S-500 battery.

Upgrading S-400 system with elements from the S-500 system might improve the performance of S-400 and S-500 missiles with better resolution and performance.

F-35s, B-2 can be intercepted with S-400 itself, maybe even S-350. Targeting them with S-500 will be an overkill.

Exactly. A 30mm cannon shell will kill someone 200m away but the PKT coaxial weapon will kill that person too and save 30mm ammo for targets further away that require the extra energy and performance.

The S-400 already has different missile options... specifically full sized 250km and 400km range missiles, as well as the 9M96 types with 60km and 150km ranges, so when targets are detected the IADS will know what missiles are currently mounted and ready to launch and the status of all the SAM sites in front of the targets, so the IADS will decide which SAM sites to alert and which missiles would need to be used for the engagement.

There might be a cruise missile coming over the north pole and it passes 220km from a Russian airbase on its way to another target further south... in such a case the S-400 at that airfield might engage the target with a 250km range missile. It would not get an S-500 battery at that base to engage such a target.

The low speed of the cruise missile means they would most likely order a MiG-31BM to take off and inspect it in flight and then shoot it down with an R-60 or R-73 if there is only one because identifying the target and working out who launched it cannot be done with a SAM.

More often than not an interceptor will be sent in peace time because they are more flexible, but if the enemy are sending B-52s and B-2s, the MiG-31s will be trying to get the B-52s before they launch their cruise missiles, while the SAMs will be trying to deal with anything that leaks through... they wont waste S-500 missiles on cruise missiles because potentially there could be hundreds of those... worst case scenario an Iskander with a nuke warhead might be used to deal with a large formation of enemy cruise missiles or bombers out over the arctic ocean...

They have an enormous range of tools available to them and will use what has to be used when they need to... targets coming in at enormous speeds will require S-400 and S-500 missiles so they don't want to have just fired them all off at B-52s and cruise missiles.

First regiment of S-500 air defense systems to defend Moscow — source

The S-500 will replace the S-400 Triumph air defense system

MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. The first regiment of Russia’s advanced S-500 air defense systems has been delivered to a military unit guarding the airspace of the Russian capital Moscow, a source close to the Russian Defense Ministry has told TASS.

"The first regiment of the S-500 air defense systems has entered service with a unit, whose combat duty is to guard and defend the airspace above the capital of the country," he said, without specifying the military unit and the date when the systems entered service.

The airspace above the Russian capital and the Central Industrial District is guarded by the 15th Aerospace Forces Army (Special Purpose).

According to the source, the second S-500 regiment will be handed over to the Russian troops in the first half of 2022. The source added that it was a "long-term contract."

Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said on September 16 the latest S-500 Prometey air defense system had completed trials and the first launchers were supplied to the Russian armed forces. On July 20, the Defense Ministry reported that it had been tested against a high-speed ballistic target at the Kapustin Yar testing range in southern Russia.

Produced by the Almaz-Antey Concern, the S-500 air defense system is designed to defeat all possible means of an air and space attack by a potential enemy across the entire range of heights and speeds. The specialist training for working with this system has been conducted since 2017. The S-500 will replace the S-400 Triumph air defense system.

https://tass.com/defense/1348691

Arrow wrote:The S 500 will not replace the S 400. This is an ABM system mainly and the S 400 is a air defence system.

And the 15th Aerospace Army controls the Missile Early Warning, Space Surveillance and Satellite Control for the Space Command of all Russia, not the Air / Missile Defense forces guarding Moscow and the Central Region.This would be the 1st Aerospace Defense Army... civilian reporters

franco wrote:

Arrow wrote:The S 500 will not replace the S 400. This is an ABM system mainly and the S 400 is a air defence system.

And the 15th Aerospace Army controls the Missile Early Warning, Space Surveillance and Satellite Control for the Space Command of all Russia, not the Air / Missile Defense forces guarding Moscow and the Central Region.This would be the 1st Aerospace Defense Army... civilian reporters

yes


The 15th Army of the Aerospace Special Forces, this is not part of the Air Defense Forces, this is the Space Forces
Structure
- Main Testing Space Center named after G.S. Titov (GIKTs) (Krasnoznamensk, Plesetsk cosmodrome);
- Main missile attack warning center (GC PRN);
- The main center for the reconnaissance of the space situation (GC RKO).


1st Army of Special Purpose Anti-Aircraft and Anti-Ballistic Missile,
This is a military association of PVO and PRO of the Moscow region. It includes:
- 4th Air Defense Division, military unit 52116 (Moscow region, Dolgoprudny)
- 5th Air Defense Division, military unit 52096 (Moscow region, Leninsky district, village Petrovskoe)
- 9th Missile Defense Division, military unit 75555 (Moscow region, Sofrino town), Equipment: А-135

Isos wrote:They probably mean replace for the protection of Moscow.

S-400 will be relocated closer to NATO to intercept any plabe before it reaches the S-500 area so it will still protect Moscow too.

That's kinda what both are supposed to do. S-500 protects startegical targets like cities while S-400 is closer to the front and protects anything there and moves with other AD units.

I don't think so, there are still some S-400 regiments to be delivered to deploy near the borders, but the Moscow region has regiments even with older S-300s, therefore these will be the retired ones.
Then Moscow will be left with a mix of S-400 and S-500, the same will happen in the other main regions such as Leningrad, Rostov, Murmansk, Central SIberia or Khabarovsk

In this sense the S-400s are being replaced like a PAC-2 Patriot battery defending Washington might be replaced by PAC-3 or even THAAD.

Neither PAC-3 nor THAAD are adequate replacements for PAC-2 Patriot, but in terms of intercepting ballistic targets it is a serious step up in performance and capability.

Freeing up S-400s is a good thing as they can be used elsewhere to good effect as they are excellent systems... they are too expensive to replace all S-300s one for one, but many S-300 batteries can be replaced with S-350 which could retain the S-300 missiles till they are used up in training and practise... they tend to make SAMs in enormous numbers.

Even old generation SA-3s and even SA-2s and SA-1s would be effective against cruise missiles with the right directors, but quite a few are used for air defence ballistic targets for training and testing too.

The S-500 system goes to the troops. Protection and containment

Work on the promising S-500 Prometheus anti-aircraft missile system has been successfully completed, it entered serial production and is now supplied to the troops. With the help of the new air defense system, they are now strengthening the air and missile defense of Moscow and the Central Industrial Region, and in the future other regions may receive similar protection.

Latest news

At the end of May, President Vladimir Putin announced that more than 70% of the anti-aircraft missile regiments from the aerospace forces were transferred to modern S-400 systems. He also noted that the troops should soon receive a new S-500 air defense system, the tests of which were successfully completed at that time. Later, in July, the Ministry of Defense announced a test firing of a new air defense system at the Kapustin Yar range. The tested products confirmed the calculated technical and combat characteristics.

In August, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, in charge of the defense complex, spoke about the start of serial production of the new S-500. In mid-September, he announced the recent completion of state tests and the beginning of the supply of equipment to the troops. However, not yet the entire range of requested products is being supplied.


On October 13, TASS revealed some details of the current activities, obtained from a source close to the Ministry of Defense. He claims that the first S-500 brigade set has been transferred to the troops. Its operation is entrusted to the 15th Special Forces Army, which is responsible for protecting the capital region. The source also pointed out that the Ministry of Defense and industry have signed a "multi-year contract." In accordance with it, in the first half of next year, the army will receive a second brigade set of equipment.

Soon, Gazeta.ru made some clarifications, citing a source close to the defense industry. He noted that the 15th Special Forces is responsible for the work of the orbital group and does not solve air defense problems. According to him, the S-500 entered the 1st Air Defense and Special Purpose Missile Defense Army - it is she who uses modern anti-aircraft systems and provides the defense of Moscow.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Defense or the military-industrial complex does not confirm or deny the latest news from the media. The last statements of officials on the topic of "Prometheus" took place in mid-September - then they talked about the start of deliveries, but without specifying the connections-operators.


Rearmament began

Thus, the last weeks or months have seen the processes that had been expected during the entire previous decade. The newest anti-aircraft system S-500 "Prometheus" is finally entering the troops, being mastered by the personnel and preparing for full-fledged combat duty. So far, we are talking only about the first set, but its transfer is of great importance for defense.

According to known data, two air defense divisions from the 1st air defense-missile defense army operate modern S-400 systems and the latest modifications of the S-300P line. There are also "Pantsir-S1" products, which are responsible for covering the main armament. Now the 1st Special Forces receives the latest systems, superior in their characteristics to the available weapons . This retooling will have obvious positive consequences.

Production of "Prometheus" began not so long ago and managed to release only a limited number of items. In addition, as the Deputy Prime Minister pointed out, not all the funds of this system are ready for delivery to the troops. In view of such restrictions, the S-500 is still supplied to only one air defense and missile defense army, which is responsible for protecting the most important region of the country.


In the future, when the 1st Air Defense-ABM Army receives all the kits it needs, the re-equipment of units of other formations in other regions will have to begin. This approach was used in the past during the transition to the S-300P and S-400 and has proven itself well.

However, the required number of new anti-aircraft systems and the timing of their release remain unknown. We can only assume that the transition to such a technique will take more than one year - as was the case with previous systems of a similar purpose.

New opportunities

Almost all the tactical, technical and combat characteristics of the S-500 system are classified and have not yet been announced. At the same time, officials and unofficial sources have disclosed some of the information to date. Some such information is reliable and corresponds to the current state of affairs, it is unknown. However, they also allow us to draw some conclusions.

According to known data, the new S-500, like its predecessors, is a multicomponent system that includes all the necessary tools with improved characteristics. So, there are own radar facilities for tracking the air situation within a radius of hundreds of kilometers. Data processing and fire control is carried out by its own command post. Integration of air defense systems into general air defense-missile defense circuits for receiving and transmitting data on air targets is provided.

Like the previous air defense systems, "Prometheus" is designed to combat aerodynamic and ballistic targets in a wide range of ranges and altitudes. Earlier it was reported that the system includes several types of missiles designed to combat different targets and at different ranges. At the same time, the maximum interception range was increased to 500 km, which is reflected in the project index.

In foreign publications, it is mentioned with obvious concern that the S-500 with the help of a special missile will be able to solve anti-space defense tasks. A fundamentally new weapon will be able to attack spacecraft in low orbits.

Modern materiel of the 1st Air Defense Army

In general, the S-500 air defense system continues the logic of the development of domestic long-range object air defense systems, but uses modern components and solutions. In addition, it is possible to obtain fundamentally new opportunities. Due to this, the new system surpasses all domestic and foreign developments of its class in all basic parameters and overall potential.

Deterrent

Improved performance in terms of detection and destruction, as well as the proposed new functions make the promising "Prometheus" a unique means of air and missile defense. The deployment of such a system provides protection for a large area from a variety of air attack weapons, ballistic missiles, and even spacecraft. At the same time, the S-500 will not work alone and will become part of an echeloned multi-component defense with extremely high indicators of overall efficiency.

By deploying the received S-500s, the Russian Aerospace Forces will be able to strengthen the defenses, first of Moscow and the Central Industrial Region, and then of other regions. Accordingly, any attempt of an air or missile attack from a potential enemy on protected territories will lead to a massive loss of aviation and other equipment and is, in fact, doomed to failure.

Thus, as the troops are saturated and put on duty, the latest S-500 Prometheus anti-aircraft systems - like their predecessors in the past - will not only provide protection against a hypothetical attack, but will also warn the enemy against aggression. Such a deterrent will have a positive effect both on Russia's national security and, probably, on the general military-political climate in the European region. And the first steps towards this have already been taken.

https://topwar-ru.translate.goog/188106-sistema-s-500-idet-v-vojska-zaschita-i-sredstvo-sderzhivanija.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=nui