The S-400 strikes out: Further evidence of the failure of Putin's super-weapon

American Thinker ^ | 04/24/2018 | J.R. Dunn

[SeekAndFind]

The past few days have revealed yet more evidence of the failure of one of Vladimir Putin’s world-beating whiz-bangs – the S-400 Triumf antiaircraft system.

The S-400 is a supposedly state-of-the-art SAM system capable of knocking down either aircraft or missiles from treetop level to high altitude. It’s a multilayered system featuring four distinct missile types with a maximum range of nearly 250 miles, which means that it dominates airspace of the eastern Mediterranean littoral. It is considered to be best in its class, the missile system to beat. Some observers have gone so far to assert that the S-400 threatens to eliminate use of air power over the battlefield.

Russia deployed two S-400s to Syria, the first in late 2015 after a Turkish fighter shot down a Russian SU-24, the second in January of this year.  This was generally interpreted as Moscow laying down a marker as to how seriously in took its Syrian alliance. The Russians played this to the hilt, periodically threatening to unleash the S-400 on all comers while utilizing the system as a shield for the activities of forces loyal to Bashar Assad.

The deployment of the S-400 led to serious misgivings and sleepless nights among Western nations, particularly in Israel. This ended with the April 13 strike against Assad’s nerve gas industry, when the U.S., Britain, and France fired 105 missiles against targets in Syria. Every last missile hit its target while the mighty S-400, Slayer of Missiles, failed to launch so much as a single SAM in response. (The Syrians fired a number of missiles – perhaps as few as two – after the strike occurred. They hit nothing.)

[Alas Babylon!]

Huh? The Bushear plant is in Iran, not Syria.

Israel used their Air Force to take out the Iraqi Osiraq reactor in 1981.

They did bomb the still under construction (but not yet operational) Syrian nuclear reactor at Al Kibar. And that was being built with the help of Iran and North Korea. THAT successful Israeli attack occurred in 2009, so you are partially correct.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Outside_the_Box

[volunbeer]

Imagine a B2 bomber deploying an army of smart kamikaze drones over a battle space. They are rather stealthy - hard to see and hard to hit. Each of them only needs a small explosive charge to destroy SAM radar or launchers and they can glide for an extended amount of time...... I don’t think the traditional AA systems have much of a chance in the future.

We are already testing and likely deploying stingers on drones so the world is going to change in another way. The future of manned aviation - especially with the development of long range or space based directed energy weapons - will be much different.

[RinaseaofDs]

This is the one I mean, in 2007.

https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/MAGAZINE-no-longer-a-secret-how-israel-destroyed-syria-s-nuclear-reactor-1.5914407

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

There's always that possibility too. The little Kremlin-Gremlin was just lying in wait.

[gandalftb]

The Russians couldn’t fire the S-400 missiles because they didn’t turn on their tracking radar.

The S-400 radar is very poor below 3,500 feet. What the Russians did was send a “look down” version of their AWACs platform to patrol off the coast west of Tartus.

That’s the only way they would have been able to detect low flying cruise missiles.

Had the Russians turned on their S-400 radar we would have been able to see the strength and quality of that signal at various altitudes and distances and know what future counter-measures to use.

Then we had upwards of 13 aerial tankers out in the Med to further convince them there would be an air launched cruise missile attack.

Surprise! We attacked mainly from the east with B-1B bombers, for the first time use of AGM-158 JASSM cruise missiles.

[ETCM]

The Russians claimed to have shot down over 70 missiles.

The Syrians made that claim. They always claim their heroic forces defended their bases and they shot down all the incoming missiles. There was plenty of video of a few missiles being fired, but no intercepts occurred. A well planned strike by modern cruise missiles is very hard to defend against, particularly when the planners have good intel on the defenses.

During the first Gulf War, we were firing some Tomahawks with little or insufficient planning for defenses and terrain, sometimes because they were "quick-draw" targets with no time to plan. A few were shot down and folks assumed they must be easy targets. Obviously, that is not the case. Russia and Syria are learning that this old dog can still hunt.

[EQAndyBuzz]

“Iron Dome missiles cost $45000 each. The missiles they are shooting down average $1000-1500?”

What’s the value of the intended target?

[Ancesthntr]

“We were also able to track their missile subs and take them out at will. The Japanese ruined that for us when Toshiba gave our non-cavatating propellers to the USSR.”

---

Reasons 1 - 1,000 as to why I have NEVER purchased a Toshiba product since, and never will. That company cost this country multiple billions of dollars, and endangered every single soul in the Free World. Phuck them!

[buffaloguy]

Texas gdp is larger than Russia’s.

[Fightin Whitey]

Texas gdp is larger than Russia’s.

Gol' darn penis?

Montana's is too!

[Daaave]

Israel used their Air Force to take out the Iraqi Osiraq reactor in 1981.

Codenamed Operation Babylon. But you probably knew that.

[dsc]

“That company cost this country multiple billions of dollars, and endangered every single soul in the Free World. Phuck them!”

It’s oddly comforting to run across another human being who remembers this.

[Harpotoo]

Israeli missiles have been hitting Syria since 12/4/17 with the last 4/9/18.

[mrsmith]

The use of drones for defense will be an economic game-shanger.
A ring of maneuverable, explosive drones could protect a point target from millions of dollars of missiles.

[Blood of Tyrants]

It is pretty hard to shoot down a missile traveling 500 mph 50 feet off the ground. Radar is strictly line of sight.

[buffaloguy]

The Russians were told to shut down their S-400 radar or they would lose it to our Weasels. They cleared out of a large part of Syria for the same reason.

[buffaloguy]

When reading about Russian Weapons Systems always remember that the people reporting on them always imbue them with magic that makes them unbeatable by anyone ever and in the future.

[mrsmith]

https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/04/23/the-corps-is-looking-for-a-tube-launched-suicide-drone/

“The RQ-20 packs a 15-kilometer range and nearly three hours of flight endurance, and conducts surveillance of suspected hostile targets. The Puma can pass on coordinates to smaller Switchblade drones that engage and destroy enemy targets, according to the company’s press release...
the Corps is issuing small quadcopter drones to every rifle squad, a program routinely called “quads for squads” by Corps officials. “

It’s getting weird out there.

[Ancesthntr]

“It’s oddly comforting to run across another human being who remembers this.”

---

I feel the same way. We’re a diminishing group...as my kids keep reminding me, I’m OLD (to them, not to me). But the eaters of Tide Pods and inhalers of condoms have no knowledge of this.

[2CAVTrooper]

Much like they did with the vaunted T-72 before Desert Storm claiming that they would be hard to defeat using the unproven M1 Abrams.

When it came to putting steel on target, our M1’s were destroying the T-72’s well beyond the T-72’S effective engagement range.