Moscow’s S-400 “Triumf” represents one of the country’s most sophisticated SAM systems in service today.
Russia’s S-400 air defense system may be considered top-tier, but Ukraine’s concerted efforts to debilitate the country’s long-range surface-to-air missile system are only ramping up. According to Military Watch Magazine, Kyiv successfully took out two S-400 launchers in the Kurk region during a missile strike last fall. Another attack targeting one of these surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) in Crimea resulted in the destruction of two S-400 fire control radars, one missile battery, and two long-range surveillance radars. The Ukrainian state-run Kyiv Independent news outlet said that this lethal unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strike was carried out by Ukraine’s military intelligence agency’s “Ghosts” unit. In addition to releasing video footage of the drone strike to Telegram, Ukraine’s military intelligence noted that “Radars are the ‘eyes’ of the enemy’s air defense system. Without them, anti-aircraft systems become combat ineffective.”
An Overview of the S-400
Moscow’s S-400 “Triumf” represents one of the country’s most sophisticated SAM systems in service today. Designated by NATO as the SA-21 Growler, the Triumf provides Russia with protection against a range of aerial threats, ranging from aircraft and cruise missiles to ballistic missiles and sophisticated UAVs. Soviet engineers first conceptualized the S-400 back during the Cold War; however, the eventual collapse of the USSR and the budgetary shortfalls that ensued delayed the introduction of this SAM system. The S-400 is the fourth generation of long-range SAMs fielded by Russia. As the successor to the S-200 and S-300 systems, the Triumf hosts many of the same functions and capabilities. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the S-400 features roughly half of the same technology incorporated into its S-300 predecessor. Notably, the Russian SAM system combines three different arrays that broadcast on various frequency bands to track, target, and locate aircraft, meaning it can likely detect America’s most advanced fifth-generation fighter jets, the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.
How Kyiv Successfully Strikes Russia’s Most Advanced SAM
Kyiv has taken advantage of the Western-delivered weaponry it has received over the last three-plus years in an effort to thwart Moscow’s advances. The arrival of the American-made MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) in Ukraine has certainly aided the nation’s defensive strategy. In fact, ATACMS ballistic missiles were responsible for the two direct hits Ukraine has achieved targeting Russia’s S-400 components. The ATACMS surface-to-surface missiles, first introduced in the late 1980s, give their operators the immediate firepower required to “win the deep battle,” as its manufacturer Lockheed Martin likes to say. The mobile missile system weighs just under 4,000 pounds, is capable of firing missiles at speeds in excess of Mach 3.0 (times the speed of sound), and has a flight ceiling of 160,000 feet. With a range of up to 190 miles, ATACMS gives its operators a long-range precision strike capability. Ukraine’s barrages targeting assets deep within Russian territory are made possible with weapons like ATACMS.
About the author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
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