S-400MissileSystem–SpecsandImplica5onsforUS&Israel

� TheS-400Triumph (NATOrepor4ngname:SA-21Growler) isaRussian-mademobile surface-to-airmissilesystem.ItisdesignedtoengageaircraI,UAV’s,cruisemissilesandincludesterminalballis4cmissiledefensecapabili4es. The fourth genera4on system of long-range Russian SAMs, the S-400missile system is thesuccessortotheS-200andS-300systems.IthasbeencomparedtotheUSpatriotmissilesystem. In2017,the S-400 was described by The Economist as “one of the best air-defense systems currently made.”AccordingtoSiemonWezeman,SeniorResearcherofStockholmInterna4onalPeaceResearchIns4tute,theS-400“isamongthemostadvancedairdefensesystemsavailable.”

The S-400 supports four different missiles: the very long range 40N6E-series (400 km), the longrange48N6 (250 km), the9M96e2 (120 km)and the short range9m96e (40 km).By comparison, theUSPatriotsystemsupportsonlyoneinterceptormissilewitharangeof96km.

The9M96E2fliesatMach15(around5,000meterspersecondor18,500kph)andcanengagetargetsaslowas five meters off the ground. It can also maneuver pulling up to 20 Gs (for perspec4ve, a human canwithstand nomore than 9 Gs with special pressure suits and helmets and for only a few seconds). It isdesigned to knock out penetra4ng aircraI and missiles flying “off the deck” or just above ground andneutralizecruisemissiles.

Dr. Carlo Kopp, one of theworld’s top aerospace experts, says the S-400 has op4onal acquisi4on radarsdesignedtodefeatmodernstealthaircraIsuchastheF-22andtheF-35.Theyworkbyopera4nginmul4plefrequencybandsincludingbothVHFandLbandsthatcan“see”stealth-protectedfighters.

Stealthdesignshavebeenbuilton low-detec4onbyX-bandradars, themostcommonmilitaryandcivilianradars (others such as C-band – now known as theG/H band – are less prevalent). The F-35 has stealthprotec4on mainly in the front of the aircraI, meaning that when it turns away from its target, it isvulnerable.Eventually,theen4reairdefensesystemoftheUSanditsallies,allbasedprimarilyonXband,willbecomeobsoleteasChinaandRussiamovetowardstealthaircraIandmissiles.�

S-400MissileSystem

CHR I S T I A N S U N I T E D F O R I S R A E L

ACUFIPRIMER:

Specifica5ons:

Type:SurfacetoAirMissile(SAM)

Manufacturer:MKB“Fakel”(Russia)

MaximumRange:250-400km

Warhead:143kghighexplosivefragmentaLon

Implica5onsWith the delivery of S-400 systems toNATO ally Turkey on July 12, 2019,opportuni4es may have arisen for theS-400systemtobeusedintrainingagainstmilitary aircraI, such as the F-35 fighterjet,thatareusedbytheUnitedStatesandIsrael.WhileTurkeywassettoreceivetheadvancedLockheed-Mar4nF-35fighterjetfromtheUnitedStates, this isonhold fortheimmediatefuture.

If Turkey had both F-35s and the S-400system, the intelligence and technicalinforma5on that would be gleaned bybeing able to measure the F-35’scapabili5es against the S-400 would becatastrophic.

This informa4onwould provide Russia with the intelligence to further develop and tweak its systems tocounter among themost potent weapons in the US arsenal. Addi4onally, the F-35 is currently themostadvancedfighterbeingusedbyIsrael.WithreportsofTurkeydeployingS-400systemstotheSyrianborder,this could directly impact Israeli capabili4es to strike Hezbollah and Iranian targets that already threatenIsraelisovereignty,furtherjeopardizingtheJewishstate’ssecurity.