Despite the rather optimistic opinion of the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Vitaly Churkin regarding the existing format of Russian-American relations, which he expressed on October 4, 2016, the observed geostrategic tension between the pro-American military-political blocs (including allies on the Eurasian continent) and alliances that support “a multipolar "political system, not only acquires the characteristic features of the Cold War, but is already more like the pre-escalation stage of the Third World War. We managed to be convinced of this after two important events that took place over the past month - the statements of the official representative of the US State Department, John Kirby, with direct accusations and threats towards the Russian Federation for anti-terrorist activities in the SAR, which from now on more and more does not suit Washington, as well as after a demonstration distant combat duty of our strategic missile carriers Tu-160, which reached the environs of Spanish airspace and "raised their ears" the fighter aircraft of the air defense of Western European NATO member states. All of this is extremely revealing. But the news feeds with reports of the additional deployment in Syria of the S-300B4 anti-aircraft missile system, designated in NATO as the SA-23 "Giant", are even more riveting on observers.
A year earlier, after the pre-planned interception of our Su-24M by the Turkish F-16C, for the greater safety of the tactical aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the S-400 Triumph long-range air defense system with the covering Pantsir-C1 was already deployed to the area of the Khmeimim airbase. The skies of the northwestern provinces of Syria turned out to be under a reliable anti-aircraft and anti-missile "umbrella" capable of protecting against most of the air attack weapons used in the Syrian theater of operations, which are in service with the air forces of the Western coalition, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. It is these states, whose interests go hand in hand with the interests of ISIS terrorist groups, that represent and will represent our contingent in the SAR as the main threat.
Trying the language of threats "to show us our place", the US State Department through Kirby hinted that if we continue to suppress the activities of opposition and terrorist cells "playing" in the interests of the West in the Syrian Arab Republic, then in Washington weapons and instructors, and subsequently, and in general, officially side with all anti-Assad forces in the region, which means the likelihood of a direct conflict between Russia and the United States using conventional tactical and strategic missile weapons. But for our country, their instructions turned out to be simply ridiculous, and to make the continuation of the existing strategy in the region more convincing, but taking into account the new statements of Kirby, the latest version of "Antey" was delivered to the country. Such a significant military-strategic step by Moscow was caused by two very alarming circumstances.
First, this is the Pentagon Seminar of the US High Command, at which such high-ranking military personnel from the command and staff level as General William Hicks and US Army Chief of Staff Mark Milli made very harsh statements that may indicate preparations for a major war with Russia. Federation and its allies. W. Hicks noted that "the confrontation with the use of non-nuclear forces in the near future will be deadly and swift." This tells us that regardless of the outbreak of the theater of military operations (be it the Syrian, Baltic or Ukrainian), the US Armed Forces will use all the non-nuclear tools of network-centric warfare of the 21st century, where the main emphasis will be on the so-called concept of a rapid global strike (BSU, or, as NATO calls it, PGS - Prompt Global Strike). This concept provides for both the implementation of conventional massed missile and air strikes (MRAU) against our strategic targets using hundreds of AGM-86C / D ALCM, Tomahawk, as well as tactical long-range missiles AGM-158B JASSM-ER, and an attack with using the X-51 "Waverider" -type hypersonic strategic winged air attack systems. Boeing's hypersonic brainchild is capable of overcoming more than 1000 km of stratospheric space at altitudes of about 24 km at speeds of 4.5-7M, creating significant difficulties even for such advanced air defense systems as the S-300PM1 / 2. Mark Milli's words that "the likelihood of a conflict with the Russian Federation is practically guaranteed" further strengthened us in the opinion of the most negative development of events.
A few days later, on October 7, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova substantiated the need to deploy the S-300V4 in Syria by leaking information from various sources in the States about the planned missile strikes on large Syrian air bases. But of greater interest is the type of "Three hundred", which was sent to protect the Syrian airspace (including the strategically important port of Tartus). Indeed, to combat conventional American cruise missiles, the Aerospace Forces could deploy several more S-300PM1 or S-400 Triumph divisions, supplementing them with several automated control systems for the Polyana-D4M1 or Baikal-1 anti-aircraft missile brigade. the most expensive and sophisticated S-300V4, with a more complex radar architecture, as well as enhanced capabilities for intercepting hypersonic aircraft at ranges beyond the S-300PM1 family.
The S-300V4 anti-aircraft missile system is a radically modernized version of the S-300V and S-300VM Antey-2500. The composition of one battalion according to the standard is represented by 1 radar detector 9S15M2 "Obzor-3", 1 radar programmed review 9S19M2 for detecting targets, tying their routes and further target designation to four multichannel missile guidance stations (MSNR) 9S32M, which are part of the battalion. Before target designation arrives at 9S32M2, all information about the targets detected by Obzor-3 and Ginger is analyzed at automated work stations in the cockpit of the 9S457M combat command post. After acquiring targets for precise auto-tracking of the MCNR 9S32M, target designation traffic is transmitted via the data bus to continuous radiation and target illumination radars (RPN) installed on 16 9A83M launchers and 8 9A82M launchers, hence we have the target channel of the C-300V4 division in 24 simultaneously fired targets … As you can see, the number of elements and the performance of the S-300V4 is higher than that of the standard S-300PM1 or S-400 Triumph divisions. In addition, the Ginger radar has additional specialized modes of operation for detecting and tracking ballistic, aeroballistic and aerodynamic targets with an RCS of 0.02 m2.
The manufacturer announced a two-fold increase in the range of the S-300V4, in comparison with the S-300VM Antey-2500 (from 200 to 400 km), due to the use of new long-range missiles with the 9A82M launcher, similar to the heavy 40N6 used by the S-400 complexes. Triumph . This indicates a significant increase in the energy parameters of all radars that are part of the promising Antey division. The standard radars of the first modification of the S-300V (9S15M, 9S19M and 9S32) had an instrumental range of no more than 330 km (for Obzor-3) and 145-175 km (for Ginger and 9S32M). The combat potential of the S-300V4 has more than tripled. For high accuracy characteristics when working on ultra-small ballistic targets, all S-300V4 radar systems operate in the centimeter wavelength range, which is a huge rarity among domestic and Western air defense-missile defense systems.
Next, we turn to the 9M83M and 9M82M interceptor missiles. These missiles are two-stage, with an aerodynamic configuration "bearing cone". SAM 9M82M is equipped with a more powerful first (launch) stage, which implements a speed of 2600 m / s (the latest version of a missile with a range of 400 km can reach up to 3200 m / s), which is 25-35% more than missiles of the 48N6E2 type / 3 (up to 2100 m / s), used by the S-400 "Triumph" air defense system. The improved 9M82M anti-aircraft missiles have excellent speed qualities for the destruction of complex hypersonic objects at altitudes up to 150 km (both on colliding trajectories and in pursuit), as well as aerodynamic targets at a distance of 400 km. Due to its high hypersonic speed and flight altitudes, 9M82M cannot be intercepted by such complexes as Patriot PAC-3 or SAMP-T, and more advanced anti-missile systems such as SM-3 or THAAD will have difficulties in intercepting our missiles, since it is known that the 82nd is capable of maneuvering with overloads from 25 to 35 units: RIM-161A / B are unlikely to be able to surpass our anti-aircraft missile in terms of the flight performance of the combat stage.
The 9M83M anti-aircraft missile is equipped with a less high-thrust launch stage, and therefore is more designed to combat ballistic and aerodynamic targets at distances of up to 100-150 km. If the highly specialized 9M82M is mainly used to destroy ballistic targets, E-3C / G type early warning and control aircraft, RTR aircraft and ground target designation RC-135V / W and E-8C, then the more multifunctional 9M83M is designed to destroy ground attack and tactical aviation., strike UAVs, anti-radar missiles, guided aerial bombs and other high-precision air attack weapons massively used by the enemy in the theater of operations. Thus, one S-300V4 division has an arsenal of 72 9M83M missiles and a total of 24 9M82M missiles, while the "classic" S-300PM1 / S-400 division has only 48 48N6E / E3 anti-aircraft missiles. Here, too, the reason for the deployment in Syria of the S-300V4 may be hidden.
The great difficulties with the fine-tuning of the active radar homing head of the 9M96D family of missiles led to the fact that the Chetyrehsotki now take up combat duty mainly with 48N6E3, a more accessible language - the Triumph ammunition does not increase more than 48 missiles per battalion, and to repel a possible MRAU the US Air Force needs significantly more interceptors. Today "Antey" fully complies with all these requirements.
How else can the S-300V4 be so attractive for the Middle East arena of global confrontation? Undoubtedly - by its unique survivability in the most unpredictable operational situation. As befits any military means of anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense, the S-300V / VM / VK anti-aircraft missile division with its 4 types of radar stations is capable of continuing to carry out a combat mission until the last destroyed 9S32M guidance radar or the destruction of all 24 launchers with radars highlighting the target. To realize this, it is necessary to spend a lot of time and about a hundred anti-radar missiles of the AGM-88 HARM type. To break into the defense of the S-300PM1 or S-400 Triumph battalion, it is enough to disable the only multifunctional radar station 30N6E / 92N6E, which can be achieved with a single and powerful air strike using a couple of dozen HARMs. The "hide-and-seek" NATO tactical aviation with the S-300V4 deployed in Syria will turn into a real torture for their pilots, in which not many will survive. We will observe approximately such an outcome in the event that the thoughtless part of the gray matter of the American leadership prevails over the share of common sense.
The S-300V4, which has entered combat duty in the Syrian Arab Republic, will be used exclusively in conjunction with the S-400 Triumph air defense system. A full-fledged network-centric link between the two modifications of the "Three hundred", most likely, will be carried out by the automated control system of the air defense-missile defense group "Baikal-1ME" communications and information exchange for tactical aviation. Due to this, both the ground and air components of our link of the Aerospace Forces in Syria will be able to act as a single super-operational formation capable of repelling any type of threat.
It is in these tactical and technical moments that the transfer of the S-300V4 to the Middle East can be hidden. And while passions are raging in the American media regarding the exchange of preventive nuclear strikes between the Russian Federation and the United States in the near future, the Russian contingent, based on the Syrian example, continues to confidently and unconditionally implement the most prudent and just model of the 21st century world order.
