Could Russia’s S-500 Air Defense System Be an “F-35 Killer”? Here’s What We Know |
Boasting about military capabilities is something that every nation has done for eons. It is meant to create a mystique to deter adversaries, and no country has done it better in the modern era than Russia. The actual capabilities haven’t always lived up to the claims.
The Sukhoi Su-57 (NATO reporting name “Felon”) is one example—an aircraft that can dazzle crowds at air shows yet has largely been absent in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Similarly, Russia’s T-14 Armata main battle tank (MBT) has been hyped up as the greatest armored vehicle ever to enter service—but fewer than two dozen have ever rolled off the assembly line, and none of those have been put into action, either.
Another platform that has received adulation within Russia is the S-500 Prometheus air defense system—the successor to its S-400 Triumf, with a name so grandiose that one should expect it to possess technology and attributes that rival the Titans of ancient Greek mythology.
In characteristic Russian fashion, the capabilities of the S-500 were hyped this month by Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis.
“Our potential adversaries simply do not possess systems with the long-range missile capabilities of the S-500,” Mikhailov told state news agency TASS. “While they have........