India’s air defence system has performed impressively amid the ongoing tensions with Pakistan. It successfully intercepted and destroyed all drones and missiles launched from Pakistan before they could reach Indian territory. Despite multiple attempts, Pakistan failed to breach India’s air defence shield.
A major contributor to this success was the Russian-made S-400 air defence system, which shot down Turkish and Chinese drones launched by Pakistan. Seeing the effectiveness of the S-400, Russia has now reportedly offered India a joint production deal for the even more powerful S-500 system. So, let’s understand how the S-500 is more advanced than the S-400.
How Powerful is the S-500?
Compared to the S-400 system currently in India’s possession, the S-500 is far more powerful. According to media reports, the S-500 is a space-defence capable system, designed with multi-layered and multi-targeting capabilities. In simple terms, it can defend even in space and simultaneously engage multiple threats. It can target enemy fighter jets, cruise missiles, hypersonic missiles, and even enemy satellites in low Earth orbit.
The S-500 is said to have an effective range of around 200 km in the atmosphere, and globally, it’s considered the only air defence system with a range of up to 600 km. It can intercept up to 10 targets moving at speeds of up to Mach 20.
How is the S-500 More Advanced Than the S-400?
Russia’s S-500 is a much more advanced version of the S-400 air defence system. While the S-400 is mainly focused on aerial threats, the S-500 is a next-generation system capable of taking down satellites in space. The S-400 can target fighter jets, drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. In contrast, the S-500 can also intercept hypersonic missiles, which are among the fastest and most difficult to stop.