MOSCOW – Russia began trial production of the next-generation mobile airdefence system earlier this year, and plans to start mass production of thesystem in the second half of next year.
The operational effectiveness of Russia’s S-500 air and missile defencesystem “greatly exceeds any active air defence system in the world,”China’s Sina news portal has suggestedlink,Sputnik has reported.
In an analysis of the air defence system system, and citing its unconfirmedreported specifications, including a maximum range of over 500 km and theability to track and target up to 10 ballistic targets moving at speeds ofup to Mach 20, Sina pointed out that the new missile system “covers defenceagainst virtually every type of plane, including small unmanned drones andlow-flying cruise missiles.”
“Compared with the S-400, the S-500 system is to be equipped with a new,super powerful radar, and the distance between the system and the enemy’sincoming target can be increased by 150-200 km,” the publication wrote.
Furthermore, Sina speculated that “the S-500 will also use a new missilelaunch tube configuration, supplementing two additional tubes to theconventional 4-tube launcher to become a 6-tube launch system.”
For comparison, Sina noted that the S-400, which has four tubes, is capableof intercepting up to six targets, moving about six times the speed ofsound, at a distance of over 400 km.
According to the outlet, sales of the current generation S-400 have jumpedrecently, in part thanks to “free advertising” from the US as Washingtonhas tried to ban the system’s sale to its allies. After that, Sinasuggested, “even some countries which had no interest in the missile systembegan to take notice of the S-400.”Anti-Missile, Anti-Aircraft and…Anti-Meteorite?
In February 2013, a 12,000 tonne meteorite with a diameter of about 20meters entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia,north of Kazakhstan, breaking apart over the atmosphere, its remnantsfalling over thinly populated areas in the area.
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Pointing to comments about the event at the time, which included usersspeculatinglink,tongue-in-cheek, that the meteorite may have been split apart in mid-air byan S-500 missile being tested in the region, Sina seemed to believe thatthe speculation was serious, and that “among the Russian media and public,praise for the weapon reached an incredible level.”
Speculation or not, the S-500 is expected to be able to counter attacksfrom spacelink,with officials confirming earlier this summer that the system will havethis capability, essentially making the S-500 a highly mobileanti-ballistic missile system.
Production of the system, most of whose characteristic remain strictlyunder wraps, began earlier this yearlink,with the S-500 now undergoing testing by the military, and mass productioncurrently expected to startlinkinthe second half of 2020.
Last week, Sergei Chemezov, CEO of Russian defence industry giant Rostec,saidlinkthatonce the S-500’s production begins, the first priority will be to equip theRussian military. The official ruled out talk of exports to other countriesfor at least “the next five years.” In the meantime, Chemezov said, theS-400 continues to enjoy “great demand.”
The S-400 is presently the most advanced mobile air defence system inRussia’s arsenal. Along with Russia, the system is fielded by Belarus,China and, most recently, Turkey. Russia and India have also signed a $5billion contract on the delivery of the systems to Delhi in the comingyears.
