Russia Begins Deployment of New SAM System S-500
Russia's army announces the first batch of the S-500 air defense system to be deployed around Moscow.
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Russia began testing the system last year.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov announced on Thursday that Russia has completed testing of its new "S-500" surface-to-air missile system. It has begun supplying it to the armed forces.
Moscow hopes that S-500 will strengthen its defenses and become one of its main exports. The system has been described as a space defense system that can intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles, aircraft, and hypersonic cruise missiles.
Russia began to test the system last year. The army announced that the first batch would be deployed around Moscow. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said in 2019, that "Ankara will also produce this system jointly with Russia."
What are the specifications of the "S-500" system?
The official tactical characteristics of the S-500 are highly secretive, however based on the predicted specifications, the capabilities of the new Russian weapons far exceed all existing missile defense systems.
The specifications of this system include the possibility of dealing with ballistic targets of all kinds. The S-500 missiles can also operate outside the Earth's atmosphere. In addition, it possesses the ability to simultaneously destroy ballistic targets and aircraft.
According to the National Interest, it is expected the system will be able to intercept 10 warheads simultaneously. The system has the ability to integrate into a unified national air and missile defense system, along with the S-400, S-300VM4, and S-350 systems.
