RodolfoOn the 40N6 tests an old (2009) and badly translated article
Russia completes trials of new surface-to-air missile
Russia has completed preliminary testing of a long-term interceptor missile for the advanced S-400 missile-defense system, the chief of the Almaz-Antei design bureau said on Wednesday.
Igor Ashurbeili said the trials had been completed in November and there were no problems with the new missile.
He also said all elements of Russia’s unified missile defense system, including the advanced S-500 surface-to-air missile, will be in place by 2015.
It was not entirely clear how the new missile would be different from the one currently used in the S-400 Triumf system.
At present, Russia has two S-400 battalions, and Air Force commander Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin said in late November another five air-defense battalions equipped with S-400 Triumf systems would be deployed next year.
Gen. Nikolai Makarov, the chief of General Staff, said in August Russia had deployed S-400 air-defense systems in the Far East to counter the potential threat posed by North Korea’s missile tests.
However, his statement has not been confirmed to date. Some military commentators have suggested the general “jumped the gun” and “was trying to pass off his wishful thinking for reality.”
The S-400 Triumf (SA-21 Growler) is designed to intercept and effectively engage airborne targets, including stealth aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, at ranges of up to 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) and speeds of up to 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) per second.A standard S-400 battalion comprises at least eight launchers with 32 missiles and a mobile command post, according to various sources. The new state arms procurement program through 2015 stipulates the purchase of enough S-400 air defense systems to arm 18 battalions during this period.
MOSCOW, December 16 (RIA Novosti)
RodolfoVery interesting! This motivated the development of SA-10 and SA-15. It is quite bizarre that these systems have roots on soviet air-defense shortcomings dating as back as the 60s.
RodolfoIt can track all kinds of target including the ones with low RCS , the most interesting part is that data from Metric , Decimeter and Centimeter radar are fused together to presenting a single view of the target as the target will behave to different RF waves and frequency in different manner making it very difficult for low rcs target to remain hidden at long ranges , just the right anti-VLO surveillance platform one needs.
I just hope they integrate a Bi-Static radar with Nebo-M system which are also very effective against low rcs target to complete the circle.
Yes. Very smart!
Considering its max height (1200km) do you think it may also be used to detect incoming ballistic missiles? I think so.
RodolfoFrom the ‘horses mouth’ Almaz Antey
max range: 1800km
max height: 1200kmhttp://www.almaz-antey.ru/about/press/news/789.html
….
More info on Nebo-M:
http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Rus-Low-Band-Radars.html#mozTocId116704
That’s for tracking very VLO targets?
RodolfoI am not sure its a MARS , the X-band AESA radar for S-500 is still under development and probably will come around 2015.
This is probably a new mobile HF radar.
AFAIK, MARS is a program to develop a mobile long range X-band radar. Not the name of the radar. And this one is, a mobile long-range radar. We should know the operating band.
RodolfoMARS is coming 😮
RodolfoFalling warheads have some altitude/pressure measurement devices to trigger the detonation but are usually “dumb” respect to incoming interceptors. The warhead will need a sort of warning system indicating that it is “illuminated” by an engagement radar linked to the triggering mechanism. Not impossible, but if it explodes far away from the target, it doesn’t fulfill the objective. A megaton warhead exploding 20 km over a city may cause some fallout damage but far less damage than exploding i.e. 3 km over that city. If was pointed to a hard target, like a silo, it will not affect it at all.
RodolfoThis already quoted site for the S-500
http://military.tomsk.ru/blog/topic-373.html
claims a similar ceiling (165 km). Note that the long range missile (40N6) is different from the anti-ICBM missile (45T6). This later has a claimed speed of 3.6 km/s.
There is an interesting possibility here: the “slow aceleration” 40N6 is the one to perform long range shots and ASAT tasks (in a SM-3 fashion) while the high aceleration 45T6 is kept for last ditch interceptions of falling warheads and hypersonic vehicles at ceilings up to 40 km.
The Big Stick
The long-range weapon designed to give the S-400 its 400 kilometer engagement range is believed to be designated 40N6. As mentioned previously, the 48N6 has proved capable of operating effectively at this range, so 40N6 may in fact be a cover designation for an appropriately modified 400 kilometer ranged 48N6 series weapon destined for the S-400. Alternatively, it may be a wholly different missile designed for a different weapon system, such as the forthcoming S-500 strategic defense system. Ergo, despite rumors persisting of the continued development of what is referred to as the 40N6, it may well be that the S-400 is already capable of engaging targets at maximum range using the existing 48N6DM. This is reinforced by the fact that some sources claim that a 400 kilometer range missile has been in service with air defense units around Moscow since 2001. Were this to be the case, the 400 kilometer missile would almost certainly have to be a variant of the 48N6, as the only air defense units capable of operating such a system around Moscow would have been the various S-300PM batteries. This would also likely imply that off-board targeting of the missile for extreme-range engagements is possible, perhaps using the 64N6 battle management radar system. Endgame intercept without the standard SAGG guidance mode provided by the engagement radar would likely be performed using active radar homing were this to be the case. Active radar homing is another feature commonly attributed to the 40N6 missile, further reinforcing the fact that the missile may be the 48N6DM or another unknown variant. With active radar homing missiles could theoretically be fired using off-board targeting data, allowing them to engage targets outside the range of the engagement radar as SAGG guidance commands would not be required. It may even be possible that new-build 48N6 series weapons came with Bunkin and Grushin’s locking control surfaces, allowing them to be operated at extreme range. Until Russia releases information regarding the 400 kilometer missile system employed by the S-400, the missile providing this capability will have to remain an enigma.
RodolfoDue to the high degree of unification of the park one missile system S-400 will increase to six. S-400 missiles can destroy targets in near space – at altitudes up to 185 km, at a distance of 400-450 km, the general said, noting that WLU is capable to work on maritime and ground targets. “It is a new complex, noise-free, with high accuracy characteristics, including the possibility of targeting the aviation component,” – he stressed.
You have apoint there.
But
RodolfoAustin, you are right. Let’s wait and see.
Yup, I was merely pointing out that if the 40N6 can actually manoeuvre at 185km to effect an intercept then it is unlikely to be a straightforward 48N6 development. Obviously Russia is perfectly capable of engineering such a gas-dynamic missile steering system (53T6 etc.)
AFAIK, the only source reporting the 185 km ceiling was an early pdf referred to the S-400 written in German from DTIG. It reported also a top-speed for the interceptor of 4.8 km/s, coincidentally the speed of fastest ballistics target the S-400 can take. That’s strange. Newer versions of these German written articles are corrected and doesn’t provide any data for the 40N6.
It is clear that Russia is perfectly capable of engineering such a gas-dynamic missile steering system (53T6 etc.), but this will go to the S-500 “anti-space” weapon, likely named the 45T6. That seems to be the follow on of the 53T6 and of the 9M82M.
RodolfoThis Furke radar was always a piece of sh.t.
RodolfoIt really boils down to the radar and how energetic the interceptor is , for high altitude interception you need a very accurate radar to guide it to the kill box after which the missile ARH guidance takes over , I am fairly certain the S-400 radar which is very powerful one and the latest achievement in signal processing , algorithim and other parameter an accurate interception at high altitude is possible.
I dont discount SOC theory but in the end its just a theory or lets call informed speculation …. at best we will have to wait and see , they have been quite secretive about the Big Missile.
Hmm thats a bad way to come to a conclusion , THAAD weight 900 kg yet it manages to achieve significant altitude and range , it depends on how energetic the propulsion is and what is the weight reduction achieved by using more modern electronics which tend to get smaller and lighter. So a mere 5 % mass increase or mere 2000 kg wont convey much
Off course we are just speculating on the subject. THAAD weight 900 kg, right. But the payload is a tiny hit-to-kill device. Compare with the powerful 180 kg directional fragmentation warhead.
You can reduce the weight of electronics stuff and to a certain degree you may reduce the warhead weight but, I think, this will not be enough .
If the solution was just to have an ARH with better controllers then they wouldnt spend 3 years testing and perfecting it , not to mention the years they would have spent developing it and ground testing the missile and its components.
I am not discounting SOC theory of modified 48N6E3 but at the same time you cannot discount the theory that 40N6 could be a new missile with near space interception capability as Ashurbeili has mentioned.
IMO, the long testing period is related to fixing problems related to controlling the missile in the exoatmospheric part of the trajectory. Quite likely the 40N6 will have 48N6 heritage. Note all hardware related to the S-400 system share the XXN6 name, i.e. 91N6,…
RodolfoThe S-400 40N6 missile indeed would have ability to intercept target corresponding to a range of 3,500 km or target flying at or below 4.8 m/sec , it was also disclosed that it would have some near space capability. { an altitude of interception of 185 km was initially mentioned for this missile }
That’s altitude correspond, I think, to the apogee of a ballistic trajectory toward a 400 km target in the surface. So, the data was likely a wild speculation.
Most official sources quote an operational altitude of 40 km. That’s a sizable improvement over all S-300 systems.
48N6E3 possibly has anti-missile capability ( all S-400 series missile have anti-BM capability in varying degree ) but would end up with ability to defend smaller area compared to 40N6.
Interesting to note the 40N6 has been tested so far against 15 targets and the testing period is for 3 years which would end by this year after state testing.
40N6 is some thing very significant and Ashurbeili was very positive above it when he mentioned its near space capability.
I took SOC’s theory there. So, I will not be surprised at all if 40N6 turned our to be a 48N6E3 with an active seeker and improvement guidance gadgets for the exoatmospheric part of the trajectory.
Why? Scant data on the 40N6 missile report its mass is around 2000 kg. That’s just around 5% mass increase over the reported mass for the 48N6E2 missile. You likely can accommodate a slightly stockier missile in the universal canisters widely seem in the S-400 images.
Furthermore, 48N6E3 is reported with a top speed of 2.5 km/s, well over the 2.1 km/s top speed for the 48N6E2. This sizable difference can hardly be obtained just by optimizing the trajectory but the mass difference (2000 kg – 1835 kg = 165 kg), if allocated to more fuel, can explain the better 48N6E3 top speed.
So, why to differentiate between 48N6E3 and 40N6? Simple. As the active seeker and/or the exoatmospheric controllers were dragging the program, it was decided, as an interim solution to deploy S-400 with missiles featuring SAGG and able to do “flatter” trajectories up to “just” 250 km. Nevertheless this missile, called the 48N6E3, is able to hit ballistic targets with speeds up to 4.8 km/s. Once the problems were finally fixed, the active seeker and better controllers are to be retro-fitted to the already in-production missiles. The result will be the 40N6. Externally you will not be able to differentiate launchers with 48N6E3 or with 40N6. The result? Early production S-400 will use 48N6E3 while later will be deployed with 40N6. Not a big deal considering that only slowly maneuvering targets (AWACS, etc) will be attacked at distances such 400 km. Most conventional targets will be targeted below the horizon-line. That’s within the 250 km envelope.
RodolfoRodolfoThanks Austin! That’s another little bit of information.
It is important to note that (1) S-500 interceptor will be able to take ICBM warheads and have S-300V lineage (another iteration of the 9M82 missile?) (2) 40N6 is related to the S-400 and not to the S-500. Finally it seems to be moving forward. (3) 9M96 missiles seems to be detached from the S-400 and will go to the Vityaz SAM system.
PD: According Daegel, S-400 perform anti-MRBM tasks using the 48N6E3 and not the “long range missile”. Nothing to worry about, since 40N6 is likely from the 48N6 family but with controllers suited for very long range quasy-ballistic trajectories and an active seeker.
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