The Russian military is working to upgrade its sophisticated S-400 air defense system with Prometheus, its successor, by 2020.
Designated the “S-500” series, the system is said to be even more deadly than its predecessors, the S-400 and S-300 systems.
Scheduled for deployment by land-based air defense units by the end of the decade, a naval follow-on version could be ready three-to-five years later.
Russian military officials say that testing is continuing and that the 2020 deployment date is three years behind schedule.
The new system employs two new interceptors – 77N6-N and 77N6-N1, both are designed to perform at hypersonic speed (above 5,000 meters/second), using ‘Hit-To-Kill’ (HTK) effect.
Prometheus is said to be on par with the U.S.-made Patriot PAC-3 and THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Air Defense), but the speed and range of the Russian system is expected to outpace its American counterparts. [source]
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