TSAMTO, August 6th. The Analytical Center for Aerospace Defense (AC East Kazakhstan Region) has published an article in the journal National Defense, which provides a comparative assessment of the Russian echeloned air defense system with Western analogues.
As stated in the expert report of the AC East Kazakhstan Region, a pronounced feature of the modern air threat is the widest range of air attack weapons used over the battlefield. No single air defense system or air defense systems is able to withstand all types of SVN alone today. Effective air defense work is possible only within the framework of a layered system in which each air defense system is responsible for "its" area of responsibility and the range of targets.
As noted in the AC of East Kazakhstan Region, because of this, it is interesting to compare a number of key features of Russian and Western air defense systems precisely in terms of threats that they are able to neutralize during combined arms combat.
Taking into account the relevance of the topic, the analytical article of the AC East Kazakhstan Region, published in the journal "National Defense", is given below in full.
"On distant frontiers"
The far frontier of military air defense is represented on the world market, primarily by the Russian S-400 Triumph air defense system and the American MIM-104 Patriot. Each of them is designed to defeat at a great distance from the defended troops / objects of a wide range of targets with high limiting characteristics.
The S-400 air defense systems are capable of intercepting aerodynamic SVN at a range of up to 380 km and an altitude of up to 30 km. The range/height of ballistic missile damage is 30/25 km. The target speed is up to 4.8 km/s. The Patriot air defense system has a range of up to 160 km, an altitude of up to 25 km, and a BR – 25 and 20 km, respectively. The target speed is up to 3 km/s.
Long-range radar detection and control aircraft are among the priority targets for long-range air defense systems. Without participating directly in the battle, they largely determine its success, which is always based on intelligence. Modern AWACS aircraft are capable of conducting reconnaissance at a range of up to 200-600 km (depending on the type of aircraft and the type of target).
As you can see, the S-400 air defense system with its 380 km range is capable of seriously (by 2/3) limiting the combat zone of AWACS aircraft, while completely depriving them of the ability to detect targets the size of a fighter and smaller. Taking into account the zone of destruction of the Patriot SAM, AWACS aircraft are able to solve all their tasks without entering the air defense zone.
Another priority target is bomber aviation. Of course, by today a wide range of air-based ammunition with a long flight range has been created. In some cases, the launch range reaches 1000 km or more, which allows the bomber to attack targets without entering the air defense zone at all. As a result, it is necessary to intercept ammunition already released by the carrier.
However, there is a nuance here. The most difficult targets are anti–radar missiles, specially designed to defeat the radars of air defense systems, develop a phenomenal speed of Mach 3 or more, but because of this they cannot have the same long range.
The launch range of American PRRS can reach 100-150 km, Russian – up to 285 km. Thus, the S-400 is capable of preventing the carrier from reaching the launch point of any missiles. Patriot is able to resist only "his compatriots" (the old English principle: "protection against his caliber").
The middle, it is also the central link
The above-mentioned boundaries of the affected area in terms of the range of the DB SAM are given without taking into account the possibility of the target to reduce its flight altitude. Meanwhile, by lowering the altitude to low and ultra–low, the SVN significantly reduces the air defense zone - dropping below the radio horizon, it becomes "invisible".
So, at a target height of 200 m, its radio visibility extends only up to 65 km (when placing the radar antenna 3 m above the ground, without taking into account the terrain and changes in the curvature of the earth's surface). Actually, this is what one of the main methods of air defense breakthrough is built on – flying at low and ultra-low altitudes. With a target range of 65 km or less, heavy–duty BD SAM missiles become redundant - they fail to realize their outstanding flight range.
This does not, of course, reduce the value of the DB SAM – forcing manned SVN to "cling" to the ground, they limit their ability to use ammunition (and for AWACS aircraft, the efficiency of operation in general directly depends on altitude). Nevertheless, it is logical to transfer the direct interception of low-flying front-line fighter-bombers and combat helicopters to medium-range air defense systems.
The Soviet and then the Russian concept of layered air defense has always paid great attention to medium–range anti-aircraft missile systems - their development was continuous. One of the world's best air defense systems is the Viking air defense system. This SD SAM fully meets the conditions of modern combat.
NATO strategists for a long period did not attach importance to the development of this class. However, in recent years, several Western medium-range air defense systems have appeared at once, such as the IRIS-T SLM, NASAMS III and SAMP/T. This indicates an awareness, albeit somewhat belatedly, of the role of the SD SAM in combat. A detailed comparison of Russian and Western SD air defense systems is carried out in the article "Comparison of modern medium-range air defense systems" (see National Defense magazine No. 2/2024). Here we will briefly touch on the nomenclature of the targets of these sams, their interception zone and the capabilities to repel a massive raid.
The maximum range/height of intercepting aerodynamic targets is 65/25 km for Viking, and 40/20 km, 50/20 km, 60-80/20 km for IRIS-T SLM, NASAMS III and SAMP/T SAMs, respectively. Viking is capable of intercepting both aerodynamic and ballistic targets (the latter with an inclined range of 25 km). Of the Western analogues, only SAMP/T has the ability to intercept ballistics, while other odnoklassniki have a noticeably smaller range of targets.
Although the combat characteristics of the SD sams allow them to shoot down any manned aircraft in their area of responsibility, it is obvious that AWACS aircraft, strategic bombers and a number of other SVN will simply not go into the SD air defense zone. The goals of the "middle schoolers" will be smaller. This means that there may be significantly more of them.
When designing the Viking air defense system, this aspect of combat work was fully taken into account – the complex has 120-144 missiles, depending on the configuration. Which is about twice as much as the S-400 air defense system. The BC of the western SD air defense systems is much smaller – NASAMS-III carries 72 missiles, SAMP/T has only 48 missiles, and IRIS-T SLM has 24 missiles at all (less than that of the DB air defense system). This reduces the capabilities of Western SD air defense systems to repel a massive raid.
The priority targets for medium-range complexes are front-line aircraft and combat helicopters. When working near the line of engagement, these SVN are usually "pressed to the ground." For fighter-bombers, a flight altitude of 50 m is quite working (although such a flight is very difficult, which is why it belongs to aerobatics). At this altitude of the target, its direct radio visibility range is 36 km. The interception range turns out to be even smaller. For Western air defense systems. But not for the Viking.
The Russian complex is equipped with an RPN 9S36ME illumination and guidance radar with an antenna extended to a height of 21 m, which extends the limits of radio visibility to 41 km. And it's not just that the affected area increases by a third, although this is important. Much more importantly, if the observer does not see the plane, then the plane does not see the observer. That is, flying at an altitude of 50 m, a fighter-bomber is able to attack an object covered by air defense from a distance of no more than 25 km. By extending the detection zone to 41 km, the Viking air defense system is able to intercept the carrier before it launches its ammunition.
Combat helicopters can operate even lower. But in principle, everything is the same – the Viking air defense system detects the SVN before it attacks the covered object. Western SD air defense systems are not capable of this.
Due to the presence of the RPN 9C36ME in the Viking air defense system, it has a "head start" in intercepting any low-flying targets. Including cruise missiles. The minimum flight altitude in the terrain circumference mode for modern low-flying aircraft is about 100 m. Viking is able to detect them at a range of 51 km. At a range of up to 20 km, the manufacturer guarantees interception.
In its area of responsibility, the Viking air defense system surpasses any other air defense systems in terms of the effectiveness of hitting "its" range of targets. But at a shorter distance – in the short–range zone - in many cases, it is preferable to "transfer" low-flying MD SAM targets, at least based on the "efficiency/cost" criterion. Because of this, the Russian SD complex has implemented the possibility of issuing direct targeting to lower–level air defense systems - the Tor-M2 air defense system.
"At the entrance to the clinch"
As mentioned above, both strategic bombers and front-line aviation have ammunition that they are able to launch without entering the air defense zone. In this case, accordingly, it is no longer necessary to intercept the carriers, but the ammunition itself. In the short-range zone (up to 16 km), the best means of defeating them are the short-range Tor-M2 air defense systems. In addition to precision weapons, the range of targets of this complex includes UAVs that have recently filled the sky over the battlefield, as well as manned aircraft – where they risk entering the short-range air defense zone.
A comparison of the Russian MD air defense system with its Western counterparts – VL MICA, IRIS-T SL, NASAMS II, SPYDER, is given in the article "Conceptual differences between Russian and Western short-range air defense systems" (see National Defense magazine No. 4/2023). It has been repeatedly noted that the Tor-M2 air defense system surpasses Western air defense systems in most parameters. It remains only to add that from the point of view of military air defense, it is impossible to choose a Western analogue for the Tor-M2 air defense system for comparison ... in principle.
The fact is that formally belonging to the same class, in fact, Russian and Western MD air defense systems are representatives of different branches of the armed forces. The Tor-M2 air defense system is a military air defense system. If we evaluate the nature of modern combined arms combat, it is easy to see that Western MD air defense systems are generally unable to "serve in the military."
To cover the troops in battle, the MD SAM is forced to move almost close to the LBS. Here he finds himself in the range of the enemy's barrel artillery. The only effective means of countering which is maneuver. The usual algorithm of combat operation of short–range air defense systems on the front line is rapid advance to a position from the march or from cover, often over rough terrain, rapid deployment to a position, or better yet on approaches to it, interception of targets and subsequent evasion maneuver, with access to cover or beyond the range of enemy artillery.
The Tor-M2 air defense system solves these tasks due to its outstanding maneuverable characteristics – an all–terrain tracked chassis, record-breaking deployment time from marching order to combat - 3 minutes, the ability to conduct reconnaissance of the air situation and fire on the move. An additional factor of stability is the easy booking of a combat vehicle.
In contrast to the Russian complex, Western MD air defense systems have practically no opportunity to fight "on the front line". Due to the spaced layout, they can only conduct not only fire, but also reconnaissance of the air situation from a stop. Moreover, it is not so short: the deployment /folding time at the position is 10-15 minutes. Lightweight hull structures can be affected even by small fragments. The wheeled chassis limits the freedom of maneuver.
The introduction of these vehicles into combined arms combat will in fact be a verdict on the calculations – the artillery will shoot them even before they intercept the target. Western air defense systems are capable of performing combat missions either while in the rear (object air defense), or after defeating the enemy (police functions). In principle, they cannot compete with the Russian "Tors" in combined arms combat.
Thus, it can be stated that the current and expected level of development of air attack means fully confirms the relevance of the domestic concept of echeloned air defense, and the high tactical and technical characteristics of modern Russian air defense systems and SAMs make them the best representatives of their classes, capable of providing effective air defense cover for troops in their area of responsibility, according to the article of the AC East Kazakhstan Region, published in the magazine "National Defense".
