Belarus to receive Russian S-300PS SAMS by March

From JDW 7 Dec 2005

Belarus to receive Russian S-300PS SAMS by March
TAYLOR PALMER JDW Special Correspondent
London

Russia is set to supply Belarus with its first batch of S-300PS surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems in March 2006, the State Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Belarus, Gennady Nevyglas, has announced.
Following a meeting in Moscow with the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Igor Ivanov, on 29 November, Nevyglas said that the first two of four S-300PS systems would be delivered to the 115th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, stationed in Brest, to cover the western approaches of Belarus.
Nevyglas said that the S-300PS systems are not yet combat ready, but that Russia is speeding up efforts to supply the systems to Belarus, where the remaining work will be performed.
The S-300PS will double Belarus’s possibilities in terms of the number of targets that it can detect, according to Nevyglas.
Currently manufactured by Russian Almaz-Antey Air Defence Corporation, the system is designed to detect, track and destroy incoming ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and low-flying aircraft.
The S-300PS (NATO designation SA-10B) entered Russian service in 1982 and used 7.2 m 5V55R missiles with a range of 75 km. The SA-10B was developed from the S-300P (SA-10A ‘Grumble’), which entered into service in 1980.
The S-300P system has been modified several times since its inception; the most recent variants are the S-300PMU1 (SA-10D) and the S-300PMU2 (SA-20).
The SA-10B missiles are transported in and fired from one of four 500 kg canisters that are carried on 8 x 8 transporter- erector-launchers, which can be ready to fire within five minutes of arrival at the launch site.