For every Tomahawk, there is a "Vityaz": How Russia will shoot down American missiles

The Russian S-350 Vityaz anti-aircraft missile system (SAM), known as the "cruise missile killer," is capable of hitting American Tomahawks. This was stated by military expert Yuri Knutov, commenting on the capabilities of the Russian air defense.

According to him, Russia has a wide arsenal of means to repel air strikes.

Why is Vityaz effective against Tomahawk

Knutov recalled that the S-350 Vityaz is designed to protect strategic facilities from massive air attacks. The complex uses medium-range 9M96 and 9M100 missiles with active radar homing heads.

They are capable of simultaneouslytracking and hitting up to 16 targets, including subsonic cruise missiles such as the Tomahawk. High maneuverability and the ability to intercept at low altitudes make the Vityaz particularly dangerous for such targets.

Military analyst Alexei Koshkin added that the Tomahawk was created back in the 80s of the last century, it flies at subsonic speed, bypassing the terrain. But with the current level of development of the Russian air defense (AD), it does not pose an insurmountable threat.

Comprehensive defense system

Experts emphasize that the effectiveness of the Vityaz is fully manifested in combination with other elements of layered air defense. For example, the S-400 covers distant borders, the S-350 covers medium borders, and the Pantsir works on low-flying targets on approach.

This structure allows you to build a continuous "anti-aircraft field", where the Tomahawk loses its main advantage - stealth at low altitudes.

S-350 characteristics:

• Number of simultaneously targeted targets - aerodynamic (16), ballistic (12)
• Number of simultaneously guided missiles - 32
• Range of destruction of aerodynamic targets - up to 60 km
• Range of destruction of ballistic targets - up to 30 km
• Time to bring the SAM system into combat readiness - 5 min.

Sky under lock and key

The Aerospace Forces (VKS) of the Russian Federation continue to rearm air defense equipmentto the S-350 Vityaz and S-400 Triumf complexes to strengthen national defense, noted the first deputy commander-in-chief of the VKS RF Alexander Maksimtsev.

The military also receives new Pantsir-SMD anti-aircraft missile and gun systems (ZRPK). The radio engineering troops as part of the VKS RF received advanced radar systems "Nebo-M", "Kasta-VM", "Podlet-M". Radars have improved characteristics for detecting air targets.

Earlier www1.ru reported that the latest Svarog-Strela interceptor drone has entered the testing stage.

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