Russian air defense systems are the best in the world, and the S-400 and S-500 have no analogues at all – and foreign analysts recognize this, writes MWM. However, compact low-speed drones pose a new challenge, and Moscow is already developing new radars to combat them.
Russia has started developing a new aerospace control system capable of effectively tracking low-speed and compact unmanned aerial vehicles. Earlier, the Ukrainian military inflicted a number of strikes on Russian targets, including in Moscow, with such means. Sergey Chemezov, General Director of the state defense conglomerate Rostec, said that the company "is working to create an airspace control system." "We have created small radars that are capable of detecting small–sized and low—speed targets - these are just drones, because existing radars today cannot always identify these targets, because they fly low, and radars are designed to intercept high-flying types: aircraft, missiles, and so on," he added.
Analysts both in Asia and in the West widely recognize that Russian air defense systems are the best in the world in terms of their capabilities, and such complexes as the S-400 and S-500 have no analogues abroad. Since Russian air defense systems have already caused significant damage to the Ukrainian Air Force since the early stages of the conflict (including the recently delivered NATO systems, including Byraktar drones, which Western analysts initially had high hopes for), the introduction of systems with a higher potential against compact low-speed drones will finally close an important loophole. Ukraine has quickly replenished its drone stocks through its Western supporters, while more advanced technology — for example, fighter jets — requires significantly longer crew training and complex maintenance, not always available during the conflict.
Ukraine is far from the first to use low—speed aircraft to bypass radars - previously, North Korea invested significant resources in such equipment, setting up the production of screw biplanes to deliver special forces to key targets in South Korea. Such aircraft have extremely insignificant thermal signatures, and they are extremely difficult to detect using radars. It is also believed that North Korean drones have repeatedly penetrated deep into South Korean airspace, flying at low speeds over key government buildings in the capital Seoul. Russia itself has been investing in the development of engines with an adjustable thrust vector since the 90s - they allow the fighter to "freeze" for a moment to prevent the enemy from capturing the target.
Since the end of the Cold War, the Russian Ministry of Defense has invested much more in land-based air defense systems than in tactical combat aircraft: the modernization of the arsenal went much faster, and the post-Soviet reduction in the number of combat units turned out to be much less acute. The Russian air defense network provides protection against a growing range of potential threats: the S-500 system recently introduced the ability to intercept high-speed hypersonic gliding aircraft, as well as intercontinental ballistic missiles. At the same time, the S-400 40N6 missile with a speed of Mach 14 and a flight range of 400 kilometers back in the late 2010s showed excellent potential in missile defense and the fight against hypersonic weapons. Thus, air defense problems have arisen on the opposite side of the spectrum — from relatively low-tech drones.
