S-500 missile system


The S-500 Prometey, also known as 55R6M "Triumfator-M", is a Russian surface-to-air missile/anti-ballistic missile system intended to replace the A-135 missile system currently in use, and supplement the S-400. The S-500 is under development by the Almaz-Antey Air Defence Concern. Initially planned to be in production by 2014, it is currently targeting 2021 for first delivery. With its characteristics, according to Pravda Report, it is unrivaled by any other similar system in the world, being the first in a new class of space-defense weapons. Also according to Pravda Report, it shares with the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system the trait that it will be integrated into a single network of aerospace defense assents.

History

Although sharing a similar designation with the S-500U project of the 1960s, the relationship between the two remains unclear. The S-500U multichannel anti-aircraft system was a 1968 initiative by the Soviet Air Defence Forces, Soviet Navy, Ministry of the Radio Industry, and Ministry of the Shipbuilding Industry to create a unified complex for the National Air Defence Troops, navy and ground troops. Missiles of the S-500U complex were supposed to engage enemy aircraft at a range up to. The S-500U SAM complex project was rejected by the Soviet Army, which had a requirement to engage not only enemy aircraft, but also short-range ballistic missiles. Consequently, the S-300 family was developed instead.
In 2009, the system was in design stage at Almaz-Antey and had been planned to be completed in 2012. In February 2011, it was announced that the first S-500 units should be in serial production by 2014. Two production plants to produce the S-500 were to be built by 2013, with first deliveries then scheduled for 2015 or 2017. According to the original plans, ten S-500 battalions were to be purchased for the Russian Aerospace Defense under the State Armament Programme 2020.
The S-500s will work in parallel with S-400s and are planned to together replace the S-300 missile systems. The first units are planned to be deployed around Moscow and the country's central area. A naval version is the likely armament for the new Lider-class destroyer, which is to enter service after 2020.
CEO of Rostec Corporation Sergey Chemezov declared the beginning of S-500 production on 30 June 2019.

Testing

In May 2018, Russia conducted the longest range surface-to-air missile test to date with the S-500. According to reports citing unnamed sources familiar with U.S. intelligence on the program, the S-500 was able to hit a target almost 300 miles away, which is 50 miles further than the previous record.
On 4 June 2019, the Russian Ministry of Defense posted a video showing the successful interception of the test target which was a test of a new anti ballistic missile system in the form of a long range surface to air missile was confirmed. Though the nature of the air defence system which was being tested was not mentioned it has been widely speculated to have been a test of the S-500 Prometheus long range surface to air missile system which entered early production earlier in the year.
The S-500 radar was tested in late 2019.

Design

The S-500 is a new-generation surface-to-air missile system. It is designed for intercepting and destroying intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as hypersonic cruise missiles and aircraft, for air defense against Airborne Early Warning and Control and for jamming aircraft. With a planned range of for anti-ballistic missile and for the air defence, the S-500 would be able to detect and simultaneously engage up to 10 ballistic hypersonic targets flying at a speed of to a limit of. It also aims at destroying hypersonic cruise missiles and other aerial targets at speeds of higher than Mach 5, as well as spacecraft. The altitude of a target engaged can be as high as. It is effective against ballistic missiles with a launch range of 3,500 km, the radar reaches a radius of 3,000 km. Other targets it has been announced to defend against include: unmanned aerial vehicles, low Earth orbit satellites, and space weapons launched from hypersonic aircraft, drones, and hypersonic orbital platforms.
The system will be highly mobile and will have rapid deployability. Experts believe that the system's capabilities can affect enemy intercontinental ballistic missiles at the middle and end portions of flight, but reports by Almaz-Antey say that the external target-designation system will be capable of mid-early flight portion interceptions of enemy ballistic missiles, which is one of the final stages of the S-500 project. It is to have a response time of less than 4 seconds.

Components

The S-500 will consist of:
Following the S-400 deal signed in October 2017, Turkey has also expressed interest in acquisition of the S-500 missile system. According to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey is ready to consider possible S-500 purchases in the future.