Is Russia about to bring a more substantial anti-aircraft card to the battlefield than Patriot?

Observers believe that Russia may deploy the S-400 air defense system, which is more potent than the Patriot, to deal with air strikes by Ukrainian forces. 

According to the Eurasian Times, Russia's advanced S-400 air defense system is designed to shoot down targets such as crewless aerial vehicles (UAVs) and long-range missiles.

Is the s-400 stronger than US Patriot?

The S-400 long-range air defense missile complex is an upgraded version of the S-300 PMU2 long-range mobile air defense system. Accordingly, the S-400 has more improvements when it has many radar systems to help the missile of this system detect and track targets more effectively. Such as the 91N6E reconnaissance radar (with a target search range of 600 km), the 92N6E fire control radar (capable of firing missiles at 400 km), and the 96L6E mobile observation radar.

In addition, the S-400 complex also has many supporting logistics vehicles, such as 55K6E central command vehicles, ammunition trucks, and missile vehicles.

The manufacturer of the S-400, the defense company Almaz (Russia), said that each S-400 battalion consists of 3 batteries capable of simultaneously attacking 36 targets. The strength of the S-400 is that it can launch many different types of missiles, creating high combat flexibility.

S-400 can fire 40N6E missiles with a range of up to 400 km (this is a ground-based air defense missile with the most extended coverage in the world today); The S-400 can also fire 48N6E3 rockets with a range of 250 km, 48N6E2 missiles with a range of 200 km and 9M96 rockets with a range of 120 km.

According to EurAsian Times, the specifications of the S-400 show that this type of air defense system is much more potent than the most influential US air defense system - Patriot. Patriot has a maximum firing range of 160 km, still quite far from the capacity of the S-400.

Russian strategic missile

According to the EurAsian Times, the impressive specifications of the S-400 have helped Russia hold a strategic "trump card," as this advanced air defense system can change the "military balance." in the areas where it occurs.

Assessing this air defense system, Dr. Robert Farley of the University of Washington (USA) said that the S-400 is an air defense system capable of shooting down the most powerful ballistic missiles because its battery can fire many different types of rockets, and its battery has a wide range of combat (up to 400 km).

Farley also noted that the S-400 is equipped with an advanced sensor system to establish solid defense zones against "threats from the air."

Not only bringing the military power to the Russian army, but the S-400 is also an effective diplomatic military tool of Moscow. In 2015, Russia sold this air defense system to Turkey, a move that caused turmoil in the US and within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This is also why Washington excluded Ankara from the F-35 stealth fighter project.

In addition, the S-400 is also deployed to many "hot spots in the world." From 2016 up to now, many countries worldwide, such as India, China, Belarus, and Syria, or close US weapons customers like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have expressed their desire to buy this type of anti-aircraft weapon for them. It's military force.

S-400 is about to perform an essential mission in Ukraine.

In recent years, the persistent airstrikes by crewless aerial vehicles (UAVs) and high mobility multiple rocket launchers (HIMARS) by the Ukrainian army have shown that Ukraine's air force is growing stronger and stronger. Their determination to fight is increasing, according to EurAsian Times.

Meanwhile, the losses of the Russian army recorded in the infrastructure system and basic units such as military equipment gathering units, fuel depots, airports, and railways,... reflects that the Russian military is revealing significant weaknesses in its air defense work.

This leads observers to believe that soon. The Russian military will likely deploy the S-400 air defense system at necessary front-line units to repel air attacks from the Ukrainian army and create momentum. for Moscow troops on the battlefield.

According to EurAsian Times, the Russian military previously used S-400 to fight against air attacks by HIMARS and multiple rocket launcher systems (MLRS) of Ukrainian troops in the Donbas province (Ukraine) battlefield.

Mike Mihajlovic, a military expert at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said that at the moment, the S-400 is considered the most advanced air defense system in the world because it is a unique system. Established and capable of dealing with threats from any air defense system, even the American Patriot. He also noted that any weapon has specific weaknesses, but in the S-400, that weakness is tiny, and only the most advanced air units can find this weakness.