It is planned that in 2013, the Russian army will receive new air defense missile batteries. This was recently announced by the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Forces Major General Victor Bondarev.
Initially, it was expected that the new air defense system, called S-500, will appear not earlier than in 2015, or, probably, two years later.
Russian military expert Victor Esin says: “It is hard to say what the parameters of the new system will be. The details are still kept secret. If it is being created in such a speedy tempo, most probably, the new system will be a modification of the old one, called S-400. Probably, it will have some considerable innovations, but, still, it will hardly be a real breakthrough.”
The information about the new Russian air defense system, which can be found on the Web, says that S-500 is the new, the fifth, generation of air defense missile batteries. It supposes a separation of the systems of destroying ballistic and aerodynamic devices. Its main aim is destroying medium-range missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Most likely, S-500 will be smaller and more maneuverable than its former analogue S-400 Triumph. It will also have a powerful radar beacon which can locate targets within the radius of 800 to 900 kms.
Another Russian military expert, Alexander Khromchikhin, says: “Judging by the information which can be found on the Web, the new system is a real strategic complex which can shot down everything that can fly, up to warheads of intercontinental missiles and even low-orbit satellites. If this is true, one such system is enough to secure the anti-missile defense of at least the region where it is dislocated.”
As an anti-missile battery, S-500 can be integrated into the air defense system of Moscow. However, experts doubt whether this can be done within the next 2 or 3 years. Victor Esin believes hat this may be possible not earlier than in 2017 or 2018.
The S-500 system is a serious response to possible missile or satellite attacks on Russia. It uses electronic devices of the latest generations, and, of course, new missiles which may hit targets as far as on the low orbits of satellites.
