S-400's low-altitude radar captures UAV attacking Hmeymim

Information about this special interception was reported by Sputnik citing a statement from the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, saying that on the night of July 21, Russian defense with the main force being the S-400 and Pantsir-S1 complexes broke up an attack by rebels using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) aimed at Hmeymim.

The Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria added that a UAV launched from a rebel-controlled area was detected and destroyed from a distance, before it could approach the target close enough to pose a danger.

The Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria announced: "From the rebel-controlled area, unmanned aerial vehicles launched an attack directly targeting the Hmeymim base. On the night of July 21, the Russian radar force on guard here detected a UAV flying from the north of Latakia province."

The announcement from this center also means that the 96L6E low-altitude target tracking and acquisition radar system has been brought to Syria by Russia and has begun to make achievements.

This source revealed that to effectively strike low-altitude targets, in addition to the newly equipped special ammunition, the S-400 system is equipped with the 96L6E radar. This type of radar has the advantage of combining both low-altitude and high-altitude capture features.

The 96L6E circular vision radar operates in the C band, its microprocessor can hop frequencies for high anti-jamming ability and good target discrimination in cluttered environments.

In addition, the phased array antenna design also has the ability to mechanically steer the beam in azimuth and steer the electronic beam in altitude. The 96L6E detects flying objects with all 3 parameters (distance, azimuth and altitude).

The outstanding advantage of 96L6E is its low and very low acquisition capability, which is an important feature in detecting tactical and operational ballistic missiles. In low acquisition mode, the target speed is limited from 30 - 1,200 m/s.

In addition, 96L6E also has a low-altitude search mode with the ability to cover 3,600 targets within 6 seconds. In this mode, the target speed is limited from 50 - 2,800 m/s. 96L6E radar is capable of detecting 100 targets simultaneously, with a maximum reconnaissance range of 300 km.

With the capabilities of the 96L6E radar, it can be seen that this is an effective tool for early detection of threats from cruise missiles, tactical-operational ballistic missiles and low-flying UAVs.

Ground attack cruise missiles usually fly at low altitudes, so the presence of a low-altitude radar like the 96L6E is very important. In addition to its low-altitude capabilities, the 96L6E radar also tracks high-speed moving targets, typical of tactical and operational ballistic missiles.

However, Russia has not yet officially announced that it has sent the 96L6E to Syria. However, if confirmed, along with the 96L6E, Moscow has almost certainly also sent the S-400 system with low-altitude missiles to Syria.