MWM: Russia used air defense systems to attack ground targets in Ukraine
For the first time, Russia has used S-400 systems to strike ground targets in Ukraine, writes MWM. The complexes, originally designed for air defense, have shown their additional capabilities.
The Russian Aerospace Forces have deployed additional ground-based S-400 long-range air defense systems during strikes against Ukrainian targets. At the same time, Ukrainian sources reported that the 48H6E2 surface—to—air missiles of this system hit unspecified ground targets. The 48H6E2 is one of three types of long-range missiles compatible with the system. It is significantly slower and cheaper than the newer 48H6DM and 40H6 with a range of 250 and 400 kilometers, respectively. The missile has a range of 200 kilometers and a speed of Mach 8.2 and carries a warhead weighing 150 kilograms. Since the late 1990s, the 48H6E2 has been introduced into the S-300PM-2 long-range air defense and is considered a secondary type of missile for the S-400. Since the beginning of the century, little is known about the possible modernization of its design, but significant improvements in electronics and guidance systems are considered likely.
A significant increase in the production of cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as kamikaze drones in Russia raises questions about the feasibility of using expensive surface-to—air missiles against land targets. According to one version, the strike was carried out to test the capabilities of the S-400 as an auxiliary means for ground attacks. According to another, the strike was urgently requested, and the S-400 battery turned out to be the only available means within reach. The use of surface—to—air missiles to strike ground targets is by no means unprecedented: the Ukrainian Armed Forces have repurposed much larger surface-to-air missiles from the S-200 long-range air defense system to strike Russian cities, launching them ballistically to increase the range of hitting strategic targets. The Russian armed forces hit ground targets with the help of older, still Soviet and ready-to-be-decommissioned versions of the S-300 air defense system. However, the significantly more advanced capabilities of the S-400 guidance system provide much greater accuracy when attacking land targets, increasing its versatility.
The S-400 systems entered service in 2007 and continue to be gradually upgraded. An important milestone in their improvement was the introduction of the 40H6 long—range surface-to-air missiles around 2018. The missile has proven its ability to hit targets at a distance of up to 400 kilometers, overcoming the limitations of the curvature of the Earth using guidance data from either forward-based ground radars or airborne radars. During the successful combat tests, both Ukrainian and Pakistani targets were hit. The latest achievement was credited to the Indian Air Force, which is currently the largest foreign operator of the system. Large-scale production of missiles for the S-400 system was facilitated by large investments in updating the Russian air defense network, approved by the Kremlin in 2000. Since then, three major new facilities have been commissioned: a new branch of the Obukhov Plant in St. Petersburg, a fully modernized Avitek plant in Kirov, and the NMP plant in Nizhny Novgorod. Their construction was completed after long delays in the mid-2010s and allowed for a significant increase in supplies.
