Russia Tests Modernized Missile Defense System
November 29, 2004 :: Itar-Tass :: News
Russia today conducted a successful test of an upgraded version of its A-135 ballistic missile defense system. The test took place at the Sary Shagan Missile Range, located in Kazakhstan. Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov described the test as flawless: “The missile accurately hit the training target.” Putin was reported as having responded to the test, saying “Good, congratulations.” According to RIA Novosti, Ivanov also said that “We intend to upgrade and modernize the anti-ballistic missile defense system further.”
The A-135 system, based around and designed to defend Moscow and the surrounding areas, consists of two interceptor missiles, the short range “Gazelle” and the long range “Gorgon.”
Pavel Podvig cites one Russian source indicating that today’s test was of the shorter range 53T6 “Gazelle” missile, a report he terms “quite likely.” According to Podvig, the Gazelle was last tested on November 2, 1999; and the Gorgon was last tested on October 2, 2002.
Update: Dec. 1: The following is an excerpt from a Russian television broadcast on November 30, Ren TV in Moscow, which reported on the recent missile interceptor test. The report confirmed that the test was of the 53T6 or Gazelle interceptor, and furthermore indicated that tests of the Russian missile defenses will henceforth be conducted at Sary Shagan at least twice a year. Text of the report: (More »»»)
» Nov. 29: UPI analysis: Cold War Has Never Been Colder
» Podvig on Russian ABM test
» More stories on: Russia, Russian Missile Defenses
» Missile system details for: System A-135, Gazelle (SH-08/ABM-3), Gorgon (SH-11/ABM-4)
U.S. Acquires S-300 Via Croatia
November 22, 2004 :: Geostrategy-Direct :: News
Citing the Croatian newspaper Zagreb Vjesni, Geostrategy Direct reports that the U.S. acquired a Russian air and missile defense system earlier this year. While the report identifies the system only as “S-300,” it is most likely the S-300PMU, more capable than the S-300V. The weapons system was reportedly shipped to America earlier this year.
Update: Croatia was reported to have acquired an S-300P (SA-10 Grumble) system in 1994 from an unidentified country, variously identified on different occasions by Jane’s as Ukraine, Russia, or Israel—towards the end of its war with Yugoslavia, and therefore in violation of an international arms embargo. The system, reportedly incomplete, is said to have been shipped by airplane between August 10 and December of 1994. The SA-10 missile tubes were included in a military parade in Zagreb in May of 1995. In July 2000, it was reported that Croatia would return two of the S-300PMU systems to its unidentified country of origin. (Article, Link)
» S-300 PMU-2 Favorit and S-300VM systems on display at Jakharta, Indonesia airshow
» More stories on: Russian Missile Defenses
» Missile system details for: S-300P (SA-10 Grumble), S-300V (SA-12A Gladiator, SA-12B Giant)
China to Purchase Additional S-300 Interceptors
October 13, 2004 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
China is proceeding with the planned purchase of 4-8 battalions of S-300 systems from Russia, reports Jane’s. The S-300 (SA-10/20) purchase confirms an earlier report noted here over a month ago. It is unclear whether the purchase would be the S-300PMU1 or the more advanced S-300PMU2, which has a longer range missile and better radar. (Link)
» Aug. 12: Russia ships China four S-300PMU1 systems
» More stories on: China, Chinese Missile Defenses, Russia, Russian Missile Defenses
» Missile system details for: S-300P (SA-10 Grumble)
S-75 (SA-2) Missiles May Become Targets for Russian Missile Defenses
October 12, 2004 :: Interfax :: News
Russian S-75 air defense interceptors may have their more primitive liquid-fueled engines replaced by newer and more sophisticated “scramjet” engines, which will allow them to serve as future targets for Russian missile defense tests, reports Interfax, citing a “source in the Russian defence industry.”
“With the scramjets installed, the missile’s flight will become stable in terms of speed and altitude and the range and the cruising speed will increase,” the source is quoted as saying, adding that the missile will be capable of flying at twice the speed of sound, and have an extended range of 70 km even at low altitudes. The improved missile targets are said to likely attract other customers as well, perhaps foreign. The S-75 has been widely proliferated around the world; some S-75 missiles were recently discovered in Iraq; a number had been used against American troops in the first Gulf War. The S-75 or SA-2 is the interceptor which shot down Gary Powers’ U-2 plane. Some 120 sites armed with the S-75 may still be operational across Russia.
In the article, Russia is called the leader in scramjet technology. The recent American X-43 hypersonic test also employed a scramjet engine. Scramjet technology has also been suggested as a possible means by which Russian warheads could evade future American missile defenses. (Article, Link)
» S-75 among other systems tested in Russian military exercise
» More stories on: Russian Missile Defenses
» Missile system details for: S-75 (SA-2 Guideline)
Fifth-Generation S-400 to Incorporate S-300V Interceptor
October 8, 2004 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
Russia’s newest missile defense system, the Samoderzhets, a variant of the S-400, may incorporate an interceptor which is currently used by the proven S-300V system, according to the Vremya Novostei Russian newspaper, cited by Jane’s Missiles and Rockets. The Samoderzhets or “Autocrat” system is said to be “fifth-generation,” one step beyond the “fourth-generation,” and currently state-of-the-art S-400 interceptor. The Samoderzhets is apparently not Russia’s most advanced system coming—another system is expected in 2012—but may rather be for export.
Specifically, the Samoderzherts system may use the same 9M96 and 9M96/2 missile interceptors currently deployed on the S-400, as well as the logner range 9M82M interceptor used by the S-300VM. The 9M82M interceptor is said to have a maximum range of 200km and can intercept ballistic missiles with a reentry speed of 4.5km per second. (Link)
» More stories on: Russian Missile Defenses
» Missile system details for: S-300V (SA-12A Gladiator, SA-12B Giant), S-400 (SA-20 Triumf)
China to Purchase up to Eight Additional S-300 Air and Missile Defense Batteries
August 26, 2004 :: News
Russia and China are expected to sign another arms deal later this year, by which China will purchase an additional four to eight S-300PMU air and missile defenses to China. The deal is worth between 450 and 900 million dollars—the more advanced S-300PMUs, known in the West as the SA-10, reportedly sell for over 100 million per battery. The S-300P has both air and missile defense capabilities.
The contract is said to have been initialed by Russia’s arms export company, Rosoboronexport, and the S-300 PMU will be built by the Almaz-Antey company. Russia previously sold eight S-300 systems to China in 1993. An additional four batteries from a 2002 contract were delivered earlier this year.
The Saint Petersburg Times and the Moscow Vedomosti news service cite Russian experts who suggest that the interceptors may be used to defend the cities of Beijing and Shanghai, reasoning that the previously sold batteries would probably provide insufficient coverage, and others which suggest that the sale could indicate that China’s development of its own reverse-engineered system, the HQ-9 and similar systems, has not yet reached adequate readiness. Given the many strategic targets China would like to protect, however, this is not necessarily the case. China’s “redundant” acquisition and development programs are also well known.
Both newspapers also noted that defense sources were very tight lipped about the sale because of an agreement which makes arms sales between Russia and China classified information. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Chinese Missile Defenses, Russian Missile Defenses
» Missile system details for: Hongqi-9 (HQ-9), S-300P (SA-10 Grumble)
Belarus Conducts S-300 Air and Missile Defense Exercise in Russia
August 25, 2004 :: Interfax :: News
Some 800 Belarussian troops are engaged in a military exercise in Russia, at the Ashuluk training ground in the Astrakhan region, which includes the testing of the S-300P and S-300V, which are both dual purpose air and missile defense systems. The exercise, begun on August 14, will continue until August 29. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Former Soviet Republics, Russia, Russian Missile Defenses
» Missile system details for: S-300P (SA-10 Grumble), S-300V (SA-12A Gladiator, SA-12B Giant)
Russia Set to Deploy S-400 in 2005; Upgrades in Response to U.S. Defenses
August 18, 2004 :: Interfax :: News
Colonel General Yuriy Solovyev, commander of the Moscow’s air defense, told a news conference on August 18 of plans to upgrade and reorganize the Moscow air and missile defense systems, notably remarking that Russia’s most advanced system, the S-400, would be deployed in 2005. (More »»»)
» More stories on: Russia, Russian Missile Defenses
» Missile system details for: S-300P (SA-10 Grumble), S-400 (SA-20 Triumf)
New Russian Missile Interceptor Announced
August 13, 2004 :: News
Russia’s newest air and missile defense system, called the Samoderzhets (Emperor), is “unbeatable” and surpasses the American Patriot system dramatically, boasts Russian designers at the Almaz and Antei defense companies, reports the Russian newspaper, Vremya Novostei.
The Samoderzhets apparently combines the longer range of the S-300VM system and the advanced technology of the S-400.
The Samoderzhets system could be the same “fifth generation” system as that referenced in a January report in Voyennykh Novostey, which quoted Antei designers saying that the new system would be available by 2012. (Article, Link)
» Jan. 27, 2004: Fifth generation Russian interceptors by 2012
» Russian defense budget to increase 40% in 2005
» More stories on: Russia, Russian Missile Defenses
» Missile system details for: S-300V (SA-12A Gladiator, SA-12B Giant), S-400 (SA-20 Triumf)
Russia Ships S-300P Missiles to China
August 12, 2004 :: Geostrategy-Direct :: News
Russia shipped four batteries of its advanced air and missile defense system, the S-300PMU1, to neighboring China earlier on August 5, notes Geostrategy-direct, citing an Interfax press report. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Chinese Missile Defenses, Russia, Russian Missile Defenses
» Missile system details for: S-300P (SA-10 Grumble)
