MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/. Russia’s S-400 Triumf air defense missile system surpasses the American MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 system in mobility and the range of targets it can engage, experts at the leading Russian defense think-tank Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade (CAWAT) reported in a review published by the National Defense Magazine.
"High mobility is the most important factor in combat effectiveness in a fast-moving aerial battle. And the differences in the mobility capabilities of the S-400 Triumpf air defense missile system and MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 air defense system are fundamental," the experts write.
They noted that in terms of speed, both air defense systems, which can be mounted on various types of chassis, are virtually identical. However, the S-400 significantly outperforms the American system in terms of deployment speed from march to combat formation.
"In this regard, the Triumf, with its five minutes, is five times faster than the Patriot, which deploys in 25 minutes. But that's not all. The S-400 launchers, providing vertical launch for missiles and subsequent tilting to any point on the horizon, have a 360-degree fire angle. The MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3 launchers, with their inclined rails, have a limited field of fire. So, it is necessary to turn them around when the air situation changes. Overall, in terms of mobility, the S-400 Triumf air defense system clearly and significantly outperforms its American counterpart," the article says.
Experts also highlighted differences in the anti-aircraft guided missiles used with the systems. The large Patriot SAMs are almost half the weight of their Russian counterparts. The price for this advantage is high — half the range and speed (of both the missile and the targets it hits). "The Patriot SAM system's lower limit is too high from the ground—many modern air defense systems are perfectly capable of squeezing into a 60-meter-high corridor," the article says. The Patriot's target acquisition radar is also significantly inferior to the Russian one. "A significant drawback of the AN/MPQ-53/65 is its limited azimuth field of view — a maximum of 100°. The target tracking speed is more than two time lower than that of the Russian 92N6E radar. The number of simultaneously engaged targets is almost half as many," the authors write.
Difference in Approaches
The experts recalled that the S-400 Triumf air defense system represents a modern stage in the development of domestic long-range air defense systems, which since the 1970s have had two priority missions: combating strategic aviation aircraft and tactical, and then operational-tactical ballistic missiles. Meanwhile, the Patriot was designed to counter just ballistic missiles, since, the authors write, the US military traditionally relied on fighter jets to combat enemy aircraft at long ranges.
"The Patriot SAM system’s problems lie not in its technology, but in its strategy. It is suitable for combating the threats for which it was created. But the problem is that the situation in the sky has changed. With the appearance of many new threatening targets, the system is unprepared to combat them. "At the same time, the American military-industrial complex is in no hurry to rectify the situation because it isn't critical for the US Army itself," the experts noted.
Dependence on American satellites
The authors added that without information received from the American satellite constellation, the Patriot system immediately "gets deaf in one ear." "But the transmission of satellite data is dependent on the United States and is granted only to those who favor the US foreign policy. As a result, foreign customers purchase Patriot systems at the expense of their own independence," the authors said.