A number of recent reports have
indicated that at least one S-300 P surface-to-air missile system has been
delivered to the united states for
testing. Satellite images at an american military
testing site show a 3-0 N-6 fire control
system and 5 P-85 transporter erector
launchers, though the time of delivery is
of yet remains uncertain.
The acquisition of the S-300 system by
the u.s military is far from
unprecedented with a long history of
acquisitions of soviet aerial warfare
systems for performance evaluation since
the early days of the cold war. These previously included among other
examples Mig-21 and Mig-23
third-generation fighters and S-75 and
two kelvins 12 cub air defense platforms
acquired from egypt in the 1970s.
Mig-29
and Su-27 fourth-generation fighters
acquired from moldova and belarus
respectively in the 1990s and even
chinese-manufactured J-7 fighters sold
by the Chengdu aircraft corporation, sought out for their close similarly to
the soviet Mig-21. While a number of u.s defense clients in
europe operate or have previously
operated older variants of the S-300
including bulgaria with the S-300P. Slovakia with the S-300PS and Greece
with the S-300PM U1.
Ukraine is almost entirely
unique for its access to the pt variant
which is believed to have been delivered
to the u.s with ukraine having
previously demonstrated its willingness
to cooperate closely with western states
and share sensitive technologies
inherited from the soviet union. Including providing full access to its
elite Su-27 air superiority fighters and
in light of reports that NATO pilots had
been allowed to train against ukrainian S-300 systems in the country. It is
likely that kiev would be a willing
supplier of the S-300PT to the united
states.
The first S-300 system entered service
in 1978 and the platform has since
evolved considerably with the most
recent variant. The S-300 volts 4
entering service in the early 2010s. The S-300PT represented a slight improvement
on the capabilities of the original S-300P and is believed to have entered service
in 1982 equipped with the 5 volts 55 KD surface-to-air missile. This provided the platform with a 90
kilometers engagement range and
introduced a terminal semi-active radar
homing guidance mode for improved
precision, but were limited in their
capabilities by a light 133 kilograms
warhead, low speed of mach 3.35 and the
ability to engage only a very small
number of targets simultaneously.
The value of this aging system in
ukrainian service today remains
extremely limited with with platform
lacking the mobility of new S-300
variants. The protection of complementary
shorter range systems or sufficient
electronic warfare countermeasures
making it something of an easy target
for a russian strike. The platform's limited value in the
event of even a minor conflict with
russia may well have provided kiev with
a greater incentive to send the S-300 to
the u.s for study. Miven the limited similarity of the S-300PT to current systems deployed by
potential u.s adversaries. The value of
studying the platform remains somewhat
limited.
While russia does deploy a number of
newer
systems which are somewhat similar to
the PT variant having entered service in
1985 these currently fulfill a very
limited role in its air defense network
and are soon set to be replaced by the
more modern and sophisticated S-350
medium-range platform. The S-300PT represents a very different
kind of air defense system to even the
1990s platforms developed by russia such
as the S-300PM U2, which are designed
for wide-ranging anti-access area denial
rather than short-ranged point defense
and are capable of engaging dozens of
targets simultaneously at hypersonic
speeds and at extreme ranges almost
three times that of the S-300PT.
The sensors electronic warfare systems
and munitions used by these 1990s
platforms are all well ahead of their
soviet predecessors. The discrepancy is greater still when
considering platforms which entered
service in the Mid-2000s such as the S-300 VM. Currently operated by venezuela and
the S-400 or the S-300 volts 4 of the
following decade. Trying to evaluate modern russian
long-range air defenses such as the S-400 or S-300 volts 4 through
study of the S-300PT. A platform at
least three generations behind would be
like evaluating america's F-35 based on
the F-5A freedom fighter which the USSR acquired from vietnam.
Both unspecialized
light fighters but of the second and
fifth generations respectively. Whether the u.s military will be able to
gain access to more modern russian air
defense technologies, possibly the S-300 VM and complementary R-77 and R-27ER missiles which are likely to be
transferred if efforts to overthrow the Venezuelan government are successful remains to be seen.
