S-400 system can be deployed on any street: Russian officer

Nerdun Hacıoğlu – MOSCOW

The S-400 air defense system, which is set to be delivered to Turkey in the upcoming weeks, has a capacity of aiming at 36 targets at once and monitoring 300 flying objects, a Russian military officer has told daily Hürriyet.

“The missile system you can see here is identical to the air defense system that we have sold to Turkey and will be delivered soon,” said Major Yegorov at the Kubinka military facility on the western outskirts of Moscow.

One of its superiority to the U.S. Patriot system is that a S-400 launching pad can be set up in a street as narrow as 10 meters, whereas a Patriot missile requires a space as big as a football pitch, according to the Russian officer.

Russia has put into use 432 launching platforms for the S-400 system, dubbed the SA-21 Growler by NATO countries, since April 28, 2007.

An S-400 battery consists of three mobile vehicles: the command center, the radar locator and the launching pad. The longest shooting range of the system extends to 400 kilometers with the 48N6E2 missiles. The maximum speed of a missile launched by the S-400 system is about 17,000 kilometers per hour, which is 22 times faster than an average passenger plane. It can hit targets at the maximum altitude of 27,000 meters. It has the capability of destroying supersonic ballistic missiles within a range of 60 kilometers. The system can be locked and loaded in just five minutes. It is designed to fight against Tomahawk cruise missiles, the bomber aircrafts such as B52s and B-1Bs, AWACS surveillance planes and fighter jets, including the F-15S, the F-16s and the F-35s.

The S-400 air defense system can detect as many as 300 hostile objects at once, and it has a capability of shooting at 36 targets at the same time.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said last week that the deal between Russia and Turkey includes a partial transfer of technology. The delivery of the S-400 equipment is set to begin in July, and the deployment of the air defense system is scheduled to be completed before the end of the year.

Tensions between the United States and Turkey have reached a fever pitch in recent months with Ankara over Turkey’s purchase of the S-400s.

The two NATO allies have sparred publicly for months over Turkey’s order for the Russian air defense system, which Washington says poses a threat to the Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 stealthy fighters, which Turkey also plans to buy.

U.S. officials advised Turkey to buy the U.S. Patriot missile system rather than the S-400 system, arguing that the Russian-made system would be incompatible with NATO systems and expose the F-35 to possible Russian subterfuge.

The United States has already suspended deliveries of parts and services related to Turkey’s receipt of the multi-million dollar fighter jets.

Following protracted efforts to purchase an air defense system from the United States with no success, Ankara decided in 2017 to purchase Russia’s system.

But Turkey has emphasized that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO operability and would not pose a threat to the alliance.

Ankara said that it was Washington’s initial refusal to sell the Patriot missile system that led it to seek other offers, adding that Russia offered a better deal that included technology transfers.