Share Source: Military
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said that the first regiment equipped with the latest S-500 Prometheus anti-aircraft missile system has entered combat duty. According to him, the deployment of this SAM system should improve the capabilities of Russia's strategic missile defense.
Main theses:
- Russia has completed the combat deployment of the first regiment of S-500 Prometheus anti-aircraft missile systems, enhancing its defense capabilities.
- The S-500 is designed to intercept medium-range ballistic missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles at the terminal part of their flight path.
- The S-500 complex is also capable of hitting air command posts, aviation radio detection systems, and low-orbit satellites.
Russia boasts combat deployment of first S-500 air defense system regiment
The S-500 complex is a long-term project: its development was initiated back in 2002, and it was adopted for service only in 2021.
Russia claims that this complex is designed to intercept medium-range ballistic missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles at the final part of their flight path.
Moscow also says that the S-500 should be able to destroy air command posts, aviation radio detection systems, and low-orbit satellites.
The main direction of development was the unification of the S-500 complex and the 77N6-N/77N6-N1 missiles with the stationary A-135 Amur anti-missile complex. The exact characteristics of the complex are unknown, but Western analysts are confident that it is capable of intercepting ballistic targets at an altitude and range of about 100 km.
Share
Also, one of the features of the S-500 missiles is their flight speed, which is 5,500 m/s, the publication added. According to rumors, the 77N6-N/77N6-N1 missiles are capable of reaching maximum speed in just 4-5 seconds.
Earlier, Newsweek reported on how many S-500 Prometheus anti-aircraft missile systems Russia has. The publication emphasized that the exact number of these SAMs is unknown, but Moscow stated that it expects to begin mass production of the system in 2025.
A research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank told reporters that in 2024, Russia had one operational S-500 regiment, which usually involves two battalions with two anti-aircraft batteries in each, for a total of four.
The publication recalled that the first S-500s were deployed in the vicinity of Moscow in the fall of 2021. However, Ukraine's constant attacks on Russian ground air defense systems in Crimea, in particular on the S-400s, forced the Russian Federation to relocate weapons to protect its bases and infrastructure.