6 days ago 11

Top 6 of Russia’s Most Effective Air Defense Systems

April 13 marks the Day of the Russian Air Defense Forces, which are currently equipped with sophisticated military hardware capable of hitting any target.

Let’s dive into the air defense systems keeping Russian skies under lock and key.

Tor

Short-range tactical missile system, designed to protect ground forces and critical sites from aircraft, drones, precision-guided munitions, and cruise missiles. Their range is 20 km (12 miles), while altitude coverage stands at 12 km (7 miles).

Buk

The system’s range and altitude coverage are 85 km (52 miles) and 35 km (21 miles), respectively. Equipped with phased-array radar for target tracking and missile guidance, the Buk can operate in high electronic countermeasure environments.

Pantsir-S1

Its combined missile and gun system allows for effective layered defense. The range of the system’s 12 missiles and two guns are about 30 km (18 miles) and 4 km (2 miles), respectively.

S-300

One of the first missile systems capable of engaging multiple targets, it has a range of up to 200 km (124 miles) and can tackle aircraft, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles. Altitude coverage is 30 km (18 miles).

S-400

With a range of about 400 km (248 miles) and altitude coverage of 35 km (21 miles), the system can track and engage 80 targets simultaneously. Apart from warplanes and missiles, the S-400 can tackle unmanned aerial vehicles and stealth targets.

S-500

This next-gen system has a range of 600 km (372 miles) and altitude coverage of 200 km (124 miles). It is designed to counter ICBMs and low-orbit satellites, in addition to stealth and hypersonic strategic targets.