© Sputnik/ Valeriy Melnikov
In Baranets' words, the goal behind developing and producing the S-500 is to meet new threats which require modernizing Russia's anti-missile defense arsenal. Taking into account that Western countries are betting on the development of intercontinental and hypersonic ballistic missiles, finalizing the development of the S-500 is a strategic task.
According to Baranets, even the US still cannot create anti-aircraft systems capable of matching Russia's.
"Regarding the development of the anti-aircraft system, Russia is firmly the global leader. Whatever efforts the Americans make to create something similar to our S-300 system, [...] they have achieved nothing. The Patriot systems, because of their tactical and technical characteristics, are far behind in comparison to the S-300s, nor do they compare to the S-400s, much less the the S-500s," the analyst said.
According to a correspondent, the Enisei radar is capable of identifying ballistic missiles at an altitude of up to 100 kilometers, while the radius of action reaches 600 kilometers.
Most of the technical-military features of the future S-500 system, which are supposed to incorporate the Enisei radar, are kept secret. Previously, it was reported that Prometei could detect and at the same time reach up to ten supersonic ballistic targets, flying at a speed of seven kilometers per second.
The anti-aircraft defense complex is due to enter service by 2020. Currently Russia has deployed the S-400 missile defense system in Syria. Russia is also selling the S-400 to states such as Turkey and is in negotiations to sell it elsewhere, including to Saudi Arabia. Russia has sold S-300's to Iran and the possibility of a deal on S-400's has been under discussion for some time.
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