Russia Develops S-350 Missile System: Capable Of Dropping Multiple Air-Strike Weapons And Enhanced Anti-Jamming

Russian S-350 missile defense system. (Wikimedia Commons/Vitaly V. Kuzmin)

JAKARTA - The S-350 'Vityaz' short to medium-range battlefield surface-to-air missile system, produced by defense manufacturer Almaz-Antey is claimed to be capable of striking future air attack weapons.

"We have developed a good and compact system, which performs all its functions much better than its predecessors. As a fundamental difference from all other similar systems, the Vityaz can quickly aim its missiles and scan space", said Almaz-Antey CEO, Yan Novikov, as quoted by quoting from TASS on May 6th.

"The weapon can strike effectively both existing and future air attack weapons", he continued in an interview with National Defense magazine on the occasion of the company's 20th anniversary.

The S-350 outperforms its competitors with the number of missiles in the ammunition payload, as well as the increased resistance of the anti-jamming radar that can observe the situation from all directions thanks to the circular scan mode.

In addition, the S-350 is compatible with all air defense systems and can obtain information from other systems, operating as a second-tier posture in conjunction with the S-400 air defense, increasing the density of surface-to-air fire, Novikov explained.

"Vityaz is capable of providing its own air defense. There is no other medium-range system with such characteristics in the world", he added.

The S-350 'Vityaz' is made by defense manufacturer Almaz-Antey as a battlefield air defense weapon, capable of striking targets within a radius of 60 km and at an altitude of 30 km. This air defense system is designed to counter aerodynamic and ballistic targets. The S-350 launcher is equipped with 12 surface-to-air missiles.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexey Krivoruchko said two regimental sets of S-400 and S-350 anti-aircraft missile systems arrived for the Russian Aerospace Forces in the last quarter of 2021.

"Two regimental sets of S-400 and S-350 surface-to-air missile systems and three sets of Pantsyr-S anti-aircraft missile/gun launcher battalions were delivered to the Air Force", Krivoruchko reported to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu last January.