MOSCOW — Russia has announced that the S-500 Prometey surface-to-air missile system, also known as the 55R6M Triumfator-M, has entered serial production, learned BulgarianMilitary.com, citing Russia’s state news agency TASS. Jan Novikov, CEO of Almaz-Antey, the S-500’s manufacturing company, also confirmed the news in a recent interview with National Defence magazine.

Novikov said that the S-500 systems ordered by the Russian Ministry of Defence will be delivered on time. “Currently, the serial production of the S-500 system is organized with the help of the latest achievements of native science and technology. The combat capabilities of this system significantly exceed the capabilities of the previously created air defence and air defence systems. The S-500 is capable of becoming the basis of the Russian air defence system. It will be delivered to the troops within the deadline set by the state defence order,” Novikov was quoted as saying by TASS.

BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that in 2021 the Russian armed forces conducted live test firings at the Kapustin Yar missile range – a place where Russia is testing all medium-range and long-range missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles. After the tests, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov said that the S-500 has achieved all the set characteristics.

S-500 Prometey Or 55R6M Triumfator-M

The S-500 Prometey is the first all-Russian anti-aircraft missile system developed in Russia’s recent history. The S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems are inherited from the former Soviet Union and the Cold War era, with Russia upgrading these air defence systems in recent decades.

It is claimed that the S-500 will become the main air defence system of the Russian Federation, replacing the existing S-400 Triumph. Other sources say the S-500 will not “retire” the S-400, but will work with it.

According to the officially announced characteristics of the Russian Federation, the S-500 will be able to deal with air threats classified as hypersonic aircraft, satellites in orbit, and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The range of interception of hypersonic missiles and aircraft is 500 km.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, the S-500 will intercept up to 10 ballistic hypersonic missiles simultaneously, including cruise missiles flying at a speed of 5 km/sec. The radar of the system reaches a range of 3,000 km.

Almaz-Antey claims that the S-500 could affect enemy intercontinental ballistic missiles in the middle and end of the flight. Experts say that the system is deployed quickly because it is highly mobile and has a response time of 4 seconds [S-400 has a response time of 10 seconds].

What Does A S-500 Battery Include?

One S-500 battery includes a 77P6 launch vehicle, based on the BAZ-69096 10×10 truck, two 55K6MA and 85Zh6-2 command posts, based on the BAZ-69092-12 6×6, one 91N6A[M] acquisition and battle management radar, a modification of the 91N6 [Big Bird] towed by the BAZ-6403.01 8×8 tractor, second 96L6-TsP acquisition radar, an upgraded version of the 96L6 [Cheese Board] on BAZ-69096 10×10, third 76T6 multimode engagement radar on BAZ -6909-022 8×8 and fourth 77T6 ABM engagement radar on BAZ-69096 10×10.

It is unknown at this time what type of air defence missiles the S-500 will use. Experts suggest that a large part of the missile arsenal will be exactly the same as the already operating S-400 air defence system, but the two-stage ATBM SA-12B Giant will likely be integrated. This is because experts claim that the 77P6 launch vehicle is designed to carry two SA-12B containers.