As tensions over Ukraine continue to ratchet up, Russia is making a big bet on its high-performance surface-to-air missile-SAM systems against Western military assistance to Kyiv. The S-500 Prometheus is central to this next-generation SAM system developed by Almaz-Antey. Promising a so-called “fifth-generation killer,” what its real capabilities are is debated among military experts.
According to the recent statement of Russia’s Defense Minister, the first batch of S-500 systems will be delivered to the Russian Armed Forces and a full-scale production is expected by 2025. The S-500 system is supposed to target fifth-generation aircraft and low-orbit satellites at distances up to 600 kilometers. If it is working as asserted, such a system could easily become a game-changer in reinforcing Russia’s air defense and, correspondingly, in the course of events related to Ukraine.
The S-500 Prometheus crowns nearly six decades of SAM development. From the mid-1960s, the Soviet Union had first relied on the S-200 Angara high-altitude SAM system and then on the S-300 and S-400 systems. The S-500 aims at countering far more sophisticated threats, including fifth-generation fighter jets and hypersonic missiles.
For instance, in 2018, Russia was reported to have executed the longest-range SAM test with the S-500, touting it could strike targets as far away as 300 miles. A year later than that, released footage by the Defense Ministry, reportedly showed the successful flight test of a new anti-ballistic missile system believed to be the S-500 Prometheus.
The capabilities of the S-500 are impressive: it can fire 40N6M long-range missiles with ranges of up to 400 kilometers and 77N6 series interceptors estimated to reach as far as 600 kilometers. The most modern radar systems include acquisition radar 91N6E(M) S-band and anti-ballistic missile engagement radar 77T6, which allow the system to spot ballistic and airborne targets at up to 2,000 and 800 kilometers, respectively.
Moscow says the S-500 is the sole defense system capable of shooting down its Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which have a range of only around 300 miles, with some estimates as fast as Mach 10. Because the S-500 can detect and intercept targets as far out as 600 kilometers airborne, it’s able to engage the threat long before it reaches any critical infrastructure.
The S-500 Prometheus will integrate the newest radar technologies with command and control to allow seamless detection, tracking, and simultaneous engagement of multiple targets-stealth aircraft and missiles with the use of low-observable technology.
Should Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue into 2025, the introduction of the S-500 Prometheus would, at least ostensibly, change the dynamics of the conflict in favor of Moscow. If the system functions as the Kremlin claims it would, even Kyiv’s most advanced weapons systems might be at risk.
While moving into mass production, the deployment of the S-500 will be closely watched across the world by military analysts. It could very well be the system to become the backbone of the Russian aerospace defense and change the balance of power across the region and beyond.