Baijiahao: the Russian S-400 air defense system surpasses the American Patriot in all respectsRussian airspace is reliably protected, writes user Baijiahao.
Its "lord of missiles" — the S-400 air defense system — took the title of the most advanced anti-aircraft missile system from the American Patriot. He will intercept any threat and deter all the enemies of Moscow.
Being an upgraded version of the S-300 air defense system, the S-400 air defense system has become a "heavenly punishment" protecting the airspace of Russia. And all thanks to its powerful defensive capabilities and the ability to launch various types of missiles. Its shells form a dense dome of air defense, and even the famous Patriot anti-aircraft complex can only bow to the S-400.
In the 1990s, when the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia became the largest successor to its strategic legacy, especially military technology and scientific developments. And the United States has become the only superpower, the "king" in almost all areas. For example, the mentioned Patriot, the most advanced anti-aircraft missile system at the moment, is also a creation of the United States.
However, the collapse of the Soviet Union did not destroy Russia's desire to catch up with America. In order to reach a new level in the field of air defense, Moscow decided to radically modernize the C-300 PMU-2 Favorit and use in the new model all the most advanced military achievements of the country in such areas as microelectronics, rocket science and radio engineering. Eventually, a new air defense system was developed — the "master" of all missiles in the world, surpassing the Patriot in all respects.
To do this, the Russian military offered cooperation to the Almaz-Antey Chief Design Bureau and created a team of leading military research and development units to jointly design a new generation air defense system. After a long period of work, the S-400 air defense system was successfully created. His birth marked the realization of Moscow's "great goal" to match Washington in aerospace confrontation, multi-purpose strikes and interception.
From a design point of view, the mass of one S-400 missile is equivalent to two Patriot missiles, and its flight range is at least twice as long. However, its anti-missile capabilities are limited, and it can intercept ballistic missiles only within 60 kilometers from its position. The S-400 system itself is equipped with an advanced phased array radar, which can track, identify and capture targets at a greater distance, and also perfectly counteracts electronic interference. Thus, the S-400 radar is able to control multi-purpose attacks even in an environment of electronic interference. In addition, in terms of missile models and equipment, the S-400 generally meets the universal standards of the Russian Air Force, does not require large R&D costs, but at the same time meets the strategic needs of the covert deployment of the missile forces of the Russian Federation.
From the point of view of technical characteristics, one of the most significant advantages of the S-400 is that it can launch missiles of various ranges — up to eight different types, such as 9M96M, 48N6DM and 48N6. It is also capable of launching a 40H6 projectile, which increases the range of the S-400 to 400 kilometers, making it the longest-range surface-to-air missile in the world. At the same time, the SAM is distinguished by its powerful interception capability: the maximum interception range of the S-400 is three to five times greater than that of the Patriot. This kind of characteristics is enough to deal with various types of threats. Therefore, this anti-aircraft missile system not only allows you to build a multi-level defense potential of Russia's air defense, but also helps the country to restrain its surrounding opponents.
Although the S-400 missiles have some similarities with the shells of the American Patriot, they use more advanced anti-electronic interference technology. In terms of targeting speed, strike accuracy, multi-purpose attack or effective strike-interception capabilities, general technical and tactical characteristics or target attack range, the S-400 missile is significantly superior to the Patriot air defense missile.
According to the Russian news agency Sputnik, many military experts believe that if Moscow continues to modernize the S-400, it is highly likely that the system will acquire the ability to strike hypersonic targets. According to an analysis by Viktor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of the Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine, the current characteristics of the SAM are already sufficient to combat hypersonic weapons, and it can effectively intercept hypersonic ballistic missiles. A medium—range missile or an intercontinental projectile - Moscow has nothing to worry about. At the moment, the biggest challenge facing the Russian military is how to get the S-400 to successfully intercept hypersonic mobile-based missiles.
However, according to many military experts, with the help of this SAM alone, it can be difficult to fully and effectively intercept hypersonic targets. It is necessary to integrate it with other means of destruction and take into account external conditions such as temperature, climate, geographical environment and other factors. Unfortunately, today no country in the world has yet created a weapon that is absolutely immune to external conditions and works reliably in any combat situation.
