In response to the appearance of the ATACMS missile complex from the USA near Russian borders, the special project of the Russian Newspaper "Russian Weapon" analyzed what Russia can counter the ATACMS attacks with.
What is ATACMS
ATACMS (Army TACtical Missile System) is an army tactical missile system from Lockheed Martin using ground-to-ground missiles. ATACMS missiles reach a speed of up to 1500 m/s and, according to publicly available data, can travel up to 300 km to the target.
They can maneuver during flight and are highly accurate. These missiles have fragmentation warheads and there are also cluster versions. The blast can occur either upon direct hit or a few meters above the ground, creating a shrapnel storm. This is dangerous for civilians and military personnel.
How will Russia respond to ATACMS
Experts from the "Russian Weapon" believe that Russian air defense systems can cope with this missile. The most promising in this regard is the S-350 "Vityaz" air defense system from the Almaz-Antey concern.
It works in close interaction with long-range systems such as S-300V4, S-400 and S-500, designed to destroy AWACS aircraft as well as strategic and tactical aviation from a long range.
Deployment takes just five minutes. The range of the Vityaz's targets is up to 60 kilometers, height - up to 30 kilometers. It can hit targets at a speed of up to 4800 meters per second.
It is noted that ATACMS bases can be hit by Russian tactical systems "Iskander" of various modifications from the Machine Engineering Design Bureau (part of Rostec corporation).
The range of their missiles, depending on the modification, reaches 500 km, and they can deploy in any location without prior preparation. Also, ATACMS deployment sites can be hit by long-range cruise missile complexes and guided bombs that are in Russia's possession.