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- Comprehensive response: how does the S-350 Vityaz air defense system work in its combat zone
Comprehensive response: how does the S-350 Vityaz air defense system work in its combat zone
The Russian S-350 Vityaz anti-aircraft missile system shot down two aircraft-type drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the zone of a special military operation, sources in the military department told Izvestia. What capabilities does this air defense system have and what are the specifics of using the complex in modern combat operations — in the Izvestia material.
Advantages of the S-350 Vityaz over other air defense systems
The S-350 Vityaz anti-aircraft missile system shot down two aircraft-type drones in the zone of a special military operation, sources told Izvestia in the Ministry of Defense. According to the military department, a total of 104 such drones were shot down by Russian air defense systems on February 27.
The special feature of the S-350 Vityaz air defense system is the use of a package of short—range (10-15 km ) and medium-range (from 40 to 120 km) missiles on one launcher. The radar station with a phased array has an increased resolution, has a viewing range of up to 250 km and can simultaneously track a large number of targets.
The vertical arrangement of the TPC package during combat operation ensures a strictly vertical launch of the missiles, followed by the missile's inclination to the flight path to the target in any direction. This ensures a circular kill zone — a traditional Russian air defense system, a very effective solution for organizing air defense of any objects and against attacks from any direction.
During government tests, the complex has shown that it can work equally effectively against aircraft and helicopters, as well as against such specific targets as unmanned aerial vehicles, guided aerial bombs, anti-radar missiles and multiple launch rocket systems. At the same time, the complex showed the minimum consumption of its ammunition for the destruction of targets. And, of course, the Vityaz air defense system can be integrated into modern information systems for warning about the air situation and coordinating the actions of air defense systems. Thus, it is a modern air defense system with all the necessary digital channels for transmitting and receiving information.
Serial production of the S-350 Vityaz air defense system began in the second half of the 2010s, and the first division of the new air defense systems was transferred to the Russian Armed Forces at the end of 2019. In 2020, the development of a new system began at the anti-aircraft missile Forces training center in Gatchina. It is assumed that deliveries of the new air defense system to the troops will continue at least until 2027.
In May 2021, the Ministry of Defense reported that the anti-aircraft missile regiment of the 4th Army of the Aerospace Forces and Air Defense of the Southern Military District received the first modern S-350 Vityaz air defense systems. Traditionally, the district's air defense units received new military equipment at the Kapustin Yar training ground, where they conducted firing practice and later marched to their permanent locations in the Krasnodar Territory.
Of course, its air defense system imposes specific requirements on air defense capabilities — first of all, the fight is against aircraft-type drones, air-launched cruise missiles such as Storm Shadow and the like, as well as guided aerial bombs, projectiles from missile systems such as HIMARS and ATACMS missiles. And this is exactly where the main capabilities of the air defense system are fully manifested — high combat performance, range and accuracy of targeting small-sized high-speed objects.
Due to its tactical and technical characteristics, the S-350 Vityaz has serious export prospects. In November 2024, the S-350E air defense system in an export version was shown at the international Airshow China exhibition in Zhuhai and enjoyed great interest from specialists and the press there. And already this year, the complex was presented in the Russian exposition at the IDEX-2025 international forum.
It is likely that our traditional partners in military-technical cooperation from Asia, Africa and Latin America may be interested in the latest air defense systems. S-300 air defense systems, for example, were and are in service with 12 states in different regions of the world, and it is the S-300 that could organically replace the more advanced, more mobile and more productive new Vityaz.
Key characteristics of the S-350 Vityaz
The S-350 Vityaz medium-range anti-aircraft missile system was developed by Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern to replace the S-300 air defense systems and organize air defense of targets at a range of up to 100 km.
The development dates back to the early 1990s, when designers began the first search for a replacement for the S-300. At the MAKS-1999 air show, models of new air defense systems on the KamAZ chassis were shown for the first time. And at the turn of the 2010s, a full-scale development of the complex was already underway, which was to take its place between the S-400 and S-500 air defense systems and the new Pantsir short-range air defense systems.
In 2013,the Air defense concern Almaz-Antey produced the first prototypes of a specialized launcher and a multifunctional S-350 air defense system radar station and were even publicly shown at the Obukhov Plant on June 19 of the same year. Apparently, the tests started right after that.
The S-350 air defense system includes several mobile combat vehicles: this is a combat control center that processes information about targets and issues target designations to missile launchers, two vehicles with radars and several self-propelled launchers on the BAZ chassis.
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