US press wary of Russian air defense firepower

The development of the S-00PMU air defense system has played an important role in the revolutionary transformation of Russia's air defense forces, writes the US magazine Military Watch.

Báo chí Mỹ khâm phục hỏa lực phòng không của Nga

A Russian S-400 air defense missile system. (Source: TASS)

"In the 21st century, the S-300 is perhaps the most famous and recognizable air defense system in the world," the article said.

The S-300PMU-1 complex was introduced in 1992 and was a major upgrade over older systems: its 48N6 missiles had a range of 195 km and a speed of Mach 5.8. They were smaller, allowing them to be launched from mobile platforms and leading to a revolutionary increase in the survivability of Russian long-range air defense systems.

The US newspaper Military Watch assessed this air defense system as an important milestone in the development of air defense forces.

Next, the Russian military developed the S-00PMU-2 and S-300PMU-3 air defense systems, later renamed the S-400. Observers note that the system has a range of 250 km, later increased to 400 km, and its hypersonic missiles can intercept enemy flying objects at speeds above Mach 8.

“That milestone in the development of this platform explains how it has acquired such an important place in the defense of Russia,” the author of the article said.

The difference between the S-400 and previous versions of the S-300 is mainly the deeper improvements in electronic equipment along with the deployment of four new types of missiles for the system, allowing users to customize the missiles carried to increase combat capabilities against certain types of targets.

The operating range of S-400 missiles is 40-120 km with 9M96 missiles, 250 km with 48N6 missiles and up to 400 km with 40N6 missiles.

The S-400 has more capabilities than the S-300. It can detect targets 600 km away and 40-50 km high, and can track 300 targets simultaneously. It is called a high-altitude missile system, but in fact the S-400 is a multi-range missile complex, it can take down targets such as aircraft at an altitude of 27 km. The S-400 can destroy enemy aircraft at a distance of up to 400 km and destroy ballistic missiles at a distance of 60 km.

Source