Posted on 10/30/2015 7:53:33 PM PDT by cold start
Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar left for Moscow on 30 October for a three-day visit before he leaves for ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM-Plus) in Malaysia. The takeaway of this trip is however the fact that all measures are in place for India to acquire world's most advanced anti-ballistic missile system — the S-400.
Previously known as S-300PMU-3, S-400 is a new generation anti-aircraft weapon system developed by Russia's Almaz Central Design Bureau as an upgrade of the S-300 family. It is currently in service with the Russian Armed Forces.
The S-400 is designed to protect nuclear reactors, population centres and government installations. The system can also deflect enemy missile more than 400 km away. NDTV, however, reported that the total cost of the acquisition is not known yet. A file picture of S-400. Image source: Wikipedia
A file picture of S-400. Image source: Wikipedia
The S-400 basically has three kinds of missiles, with different capabilities, that can fly at supersonic and hypersonic speeds to intercept all kinds of targets at ranges from 120 to 400 km. Russian experts even proclaim that the S-400 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system can “radar lock and shoot down†stealth fifth-generation fighters like the American F-35 jets.
The S-400 Triumf is capable of countering all air attack weapons, including tactical and strategic aircraft, ballistic missiles and hypersonic targets such as the US F-35 fighter jet. The S-400 can engage up to 36 targets simultaneously with as many as 72 missiles at altitudes of five meters to 30 km.
Elaborating on the agenda during his visit to Moscow, Parrikar told Russian news agency TASS that he hopes to finalise the S-400 deal before PM Narendra Modi visits Russia in December this year.
“They may not take a final shape during my visit but we’d like to prepare some of them for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia in December — for example, the project for joint production of Kamov Ka-226 helicopters… Also, the purchase of S-400 missile systems. We anticipate these projects to be coordinated by next month,†Parrikar was quoted by TASS as saying.
The deal comes around a year after China sealed a $3 billion deal with Russia for acquisition of six S-400 batteries. China is slated to get the S-400 batteries, which is designated 'SA-21 Growler' by Nato and rivals the anti-ballistic missile capabilities of the US Patriot PAC-3 system, from 2017 onwards, PTI reported.
Parrikar's visit to Russia and clinching this deal might seem as an attempt by India to plug the holes in its airspace surveillance and defence network with progressive induction of a wide array of sensors and weapons.
Parrikar's visit comes as the government's Defence Acquisition Council cleared defence projects worth more than Rs 15,000 crores, Zee News reported.
India-Russia military technical cooperation has evolved from a simple buyer-seller framework to one involving joint research, development and production of advanced defence technologies and systems.
Their early versions had .5 kt warheads for intercepting US ICBMs. The US, under Nixon, allowed them in Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty , I believe. We, naturally, got rid of our missile versions under the same treaty. As well as anything else that the Russians and Nixon considered a dangerous nuclear devise ... and so much for going to the stars on nuclear powered rockets ... when America died by Richard Nixon, the man who terminated the USA with prejudice.
I don't think you can even begin to compare air-defense assets in the Moscow area to the DC area at the time of Rust's flight into Red Square.
Obama should buy some for us...
I was just pointing out that the US does exactly the same thing as the Russians.
It is the height of foolishness to sell others the very best advanced weapons a major power can make.
Reagan's defeat of the USSR was masterful. And, I am not as certain that he "cheated" as the NYT. In any event, he won the most dangerous confrontation the world has ever seen with minimal loss of life. The fruits of his victory have been squandered by those who came after him.
This is an error that is repeated in many threads on SAM systems. That the Israelis took out S-300s in Syria, and did so without a sweat.
The truth?
Israel never took out any S-300 system for the simple fact that none was present. The Syrians had a medley of old SAM systems, with the only new system at play (and the one that Israel took out) being the Tor-M1 (SA-15 Gauntlet) SAM systems. The Tor-M1 is a short range point-defense missile system that Syria used to defend their al-Kibar nuclear facility.
The Tor-M1 is not the S-300, and the threat profile of the two systems is very different. Israel has pressured Russia not to sell the system to Iran and Syria (prior to the Assad regime getting far greater problems to focus on), has tried to use financial and trade incentives with Russia to dissuade the sale, and even threatened to attack any transports carrying those missiles.
The S-300 is not seen as a 'joke' by people who actually have to plan to defeat such systems. Israel actually practices against the Greek S-300 systems to develop workable solutions against an S-300 IADS, and I am certain that they have a good answer to the S-300 ...it will just not be as easy and taking out a Tor-M1.
In a nutshell, the S-300 (and similar systems and variants like the Chinese HQ-9, which is a S-300 copy), as well as follow-ons like the S-400 and the projected S-500, are serious air-defense systems that are taken very seriously by those that actually have to send men to face such systems. For example, the HQ-9 is the system that makes the IADS around Shanghai and Beijing virtually sterile.
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