By any measure, S-500 “Prometheus” is the single most radical and complex system ever assembled by man out of all the new-generation air defense systems. With an audacity to be the perfect guard against stealth planes, hypersonic missiles, or even satellites in lower orbits, S-500 wildly exceeds the anticipations of military strategists who had to reckon with missile defense and strategic deterrence only.
Introduction: S-500 as a Next Generation Shield
S-500 is not a substitute for the canceled surface-to-air missile programs. S-500 represents a qualitative breakthrough, equating the strategic level of missile defense with the tactical air defense level.
S-500 is different from existing systems fielded today in that it will be engaging the most challenging targets to knock down—intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic gliders, stealth aircraft, and even low-earth orbit satellites.
S-500 is thus an air defense system with multi-domain capabilities, extending the boundaries of what can be achieved by a ground platform.
Development and Technical Capability
The S-500 concept first gained traction during the early 2010s, at one point, when strategists were attempting to counter the new emerging threat that hypersonic missiles and fifth-generation stealth fighter planes presented.
It was first due for launch in 2014, but was delayed not only because of technology problems but also manufacturing defects. Initial releases were made sometime around 2021, with releases gaining pace by sometime in the mid-2020s.
As a technologically based capability, the S-500 is astonishing. It features a speed of 600 kilometers and an altitude of intercept speed of 200 kilometers, cutting through space with ease in its terrain.
Its interceptors supposedly are capable of keeping pace with targets moving at very high speeds, e.g., hypersonic missiles.
The system boasts state-of-the-art radar, command, and missile technology to sense, identify, and destroy multiple targets at a time; its coverage area is matched by only a few systems on the planet.
In air, missile, and near-space domains, the S-500 is a weapon but also a strategic asset that can affect defense strategy and geopolitics.
It is reflective of a worldwide movement towards highly mobile, multi-tiered air defense systems with the ability to counteract the very dynamic character of threats of warfare in the current generation.