Can Russia's S-400 counter America's Tomahawk missiles?
Russian officials said earlier this week that they would shoot down any missiles fired by the US and its allies at Syria, raising questions about whether Russia’s advanced S-400 air defense system in Syria could stop the Tomahawk cruise missiles the US has used to attack Syria.
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| The US Tomahawk cruise missile has an attack range of about 1,400km to 2,600km. Photo: Getty |
After US President Donald Trump warned Russia on April 11 to be ready because Syria was about to be hit by “new and smart” missiles, experts said the US could soon launch a missile attack on Syria. This time, the US could use Tomahawk cruise missiles, the type of missile the US used to attack Syria last April.
The Tomahawk cruise missile has been in service with the US Navy since the 1980s. It is a medium-range cruise missile and was put into combat in 1991 during the Gulf War.
The Tomahawk has a strike range of approximately 1,400km to 2,600km and can be deployed on more than 140 US submarines and naval vessels. One of the Tomahawk's outstanding features is its ability to be reprogrammed mid-flight.
Additionally, by flying at low altitudes at speeds of around 900 km/h, the Tomahawk missile can bypass most conventional radar and air defense systems.
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| Can Russia's S-400 counter the US Tomahawk missile?An S-400 air defense system. Photo: Pravda |
Meanwhile, Russia's S-400 air defense missile system began production in 1993. This is Russia's most advanced missile defense system put into service.
Russia has deployed the S-400 to Syria since 2015. Russia currently has two S-400 batteries in Syria, one at the Hmeimmim air base and another near Russia's Tartus naval base.
The system includes a complex radar with a range of up to 600km and a control network, allowing it to attack multiple enemy aircraft at the same time.
Each S-400 complex consists of dozens of interceptor missiles. The interceptor missiles used for the S-400 are mainly the 9M96 type, which is very suitable for intercepting cruise missiles with a target hit probability of about 70%.
“The S-400 is capable of intercepting single missiles. However, the enemy can easily neutralize the interception capability of this system by increasing the number of missiles needed,” said Justin Bronk, an expert at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
This expert also cited that the US attack with 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles last year on Syria's Shayrat airbase was beyond the S-400's interception capability.
In addition, in theory, the S-400 is said to be able to intercept cruise missiles or targets 400km away, but many experts believe it can only intercept low-flying Tomahawk missiles at a distance of only a few dozen kilometers.
"The S-400 will have limitations in its effective range in real combat conditions," the news site said.Daily Beastquoted Mr. Ted Postol, a rocket expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as saying.