On November 7 it was reported that the Russian Armed Forces had used an S-400 lengthy vary air defence system within the Ukrainian theatre to fireplace missiles with terminal energetic radar homing, and paired it with A-50 airborne early warning and management (AEW&C) system to extend situational consciousness in opposition to targets. The outline of the missile used exactly matched the capabilities of the 40N6, which is a novel missile class utilized by S-400s to facilitate concentrating on at ranges of as much as 400km. The missile’s distinctive trajectory, ascending to excessive close to area altitudes earlier than descending in the direction of its goal, supplies it with unparalleled over the horizon strike capabilities and permits it to neutralise targets close to the bounds of its vary as little as 5 meters off the bottom. This permits S-400 models to focus on low angle plane and cruise missiles at lengthy distances in a manner no non-Russian air defence system can because of the limitations of the Earth’s curvature on floor to air munitions following standard trajectories. Though fielded from the October 2018, and delivered to the Chinese language Folks’s Liberation Army from 2019, the 40N6 was not recognized to have been fight examined earlier than its use in Ukraine in early November.
For the ultimate a part of its trajectory the 40N6’s distance from radars on the S-400 system itself, and the benefits of radars from elevated airborne positions offering concentrating on information on low altitude targets, has made pairing with plane helpful to making sure precision. A supply near the Russian Defence Ministry knowledgeable state media outlet TASS relating to using the missile in fight and its pairing with an A-50: “Russia used S-400 Triumf system in tandem with the A-50 early warning and management plane within the particular army operation in Ukraine. S-400s launched anti-aircraft missiles with energetic homing heads. The system’s use in opposition to enemy plane was profitable.” The missiles have been fired at most distances to hit targets at altitudes of about 1,000 meters, and “new warheads” have been reportedly used within the engagement. Though A-50 AEW&C plane are fielded in comparatively small numbers within the Russian fleet, and regardless of current upgrades nonetheless reportedly have restricted levels of fight readiness, Russian fighters on common carry radars near twice as massive as their Western counterparts offering very excessive levels of situational consciousness and permitting them to equally present concentrating on information. The MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor carries by far the biggest radar for a tactical fight plane, over six instances the dimensions of the American F-16’s AN/APG-68 radar, which was designed to offer very excessive situational consciousness in opposition to low flying floor targets. This has additionally made it an optimum airborne sensor to pair with floor based mostly lengthy vary air defence techniques particularly models using 40N6 missiles.
Russian officers together with President Vladimir Putin have claimed that the nation is producing floor to air missiles at a larger charge than all different nations mixed, and whereas this stays unsure because of the unknown scales of Chinese language and North Korean manufacturing it’s clear that Russia has a snug lead over the mixed productive capacities of all NATO nations. This has allowed it to ship S-400s to each Belarus and India, the latter at a really excessive charge, whereas concurrently enlarging its personal forces and replenishing missiles expended throughout operations in Ukraine. This scale of manufacturing was largely achieved because of the building of three main new services together with a brand new wing of the Obukhov Plant in St. Petersburg, the Avitek Plant in Kirov which was throughly modernised, and the NMP Plant in Nizhniy Novgorod. This prolonged course of started within the 2000s and allowed the services to provide S-400s on a big scale within the latter half of the next decade from round 2016.
The present huge scale of manufacturing of floor to air missiles has allowed a number of new regiments price of S-400s to be made prepared for service yearly – alongside manufacturing of different lengthy ranged techniques such because the S-300V4 and S-500. The S-400’s mixture of excessive mobility and excessive situational consciousness with a really lengthy engagement vary has allowed it to threaten enemy fight plane over very huge areas, whereas additionally offered a large space defence in opposition to all types of tactical missile assault together with missiles travelling at decrease hypersonic speeds. The newer S-500 system has expanded on this functionality, and whereas much less nicely optimised to participating tactical fight plane it supplies defensive capabilities in opposition to intercontinental vary ballistic missiles, satellites, area plane and quicker courses of hypersonic weapons, whereas additionally offering an incredible 600km engagement vary eclipsing even that of the S-400’s 40N6 missile. With the variety of S-400 divisions in Russia set to exceed 60 in 2027-28, 40N6 missiles have been broadly built-in throughout present models with manufacturing charges for the missile estimated to have surpassed 300 per 12 months. This displays the truth that Russian funding for acquisitions floor based mostly air defence belongings has for many years exceeded funding for tactical fight aviation acquisitions a number of instances over.
