What Is S-500? Russia Rushes In Most Advanced Air Defense System to Crimea

Russia has moved parts of a brand-new S-500 air defense systems to Crimea, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

The move follows the repeated targeting by Kyiv of advanced Russian air defenses on the peninsula with suspected long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) strikes.

Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency, told Ukrainian media on Wednesday that Russia had placed components of an S-500 anti-aircraft missile system in Crimea. The system is still "experimental," he added.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

This is the first indication of the advanced S-500, also known as the Prometheus surface-to-air missile system, being rolled out for a combat role in Crimea. Russian media reports suggested in fall 2021 that the first S-500 had been deployed around Moscow.

It is not clear which parts of the system have been relocated to Crimea. Air defense systems of this type have several different elements, including command posts, radars, and launchers.

The S-500 is designed to intercept short-to medium-range targets, including ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missiles, according to Russian state-run media. The Tass news agency reported that Russian troops had been undergoing "specialist training" to operate the S-500 since 2017, and that it will replace the S-400 system.

Ukraine has carried out a string of attacks on Russia's expensive air defense assets, including the S-400 systems deployed in Crimea. Several attacks have been chalked up by observers and analysts to ATACMS.

The S-500 is a theater ballistic missile defense system, and Ukraine's use of ATACMS against Russian assets would offer up an explanation for why Moscow is putting this type of air defense system in the area, Sidharth Kaushal, a senior research fellow with the U.K.-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank, told Newsweek.

Theater ballistic missile defense systems have a range of just over 2,200 miles, and are used against threats within the specific region where the system is located. ATACMS are tactical ballistic missiles with a range of approximately 200 miles.

The deployment of parts of an S-500 could be an interim solution for S-300 and S-400 losses, plugging capability gaps after Ukrainian strikes, added Paul van Hooft, a senior strategic analyst with The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies.

Swapping in some limited S-500 components may also provide an opportunity for Russia to test out the kit without risking the loss of an entire system, he told Newsweek. If an S-500 battery is deployed and fails to work as intended, or is destroyed by Ukraine, Russia's international sales of the system could suffer, he added.

On Wednesday, Ukraine's military said its forces had destroyed S-300 and S-400 air defense radar systems stationed close to the Crimean port city of Sevastopol.

Russian military bloggers and Ukrainian sources reported that ATACMS missiles were used.

Earlier this week, Ukraine said it had "successfully attacked" one Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system near Dzhankoy—a key road and rail hub for Russia in northern Crimea—and two S-300 systems near Chornomorske and Yevpatoria, in the west of the peninsula. Russian military bloggers suggested ATACMS were responsible for the strikes.

Reports also indicated Kyiv destroyed part of an S-300 or S-400 air defense battery over the border in Russia's Belgorod region in early June.

Ukraine is likely attempting to degrade Russia's air defense assets that could threaten Kyiv's fleet of F-16 fighter jets, once the aircraft arrive in the country and take to the skies, Western analysis has suggested.

Budanov said the S-500 had been deployed to protect the Kerch Bridge, a Russian-built structure connecting Crimea with the Russian mainland.

Also referred to as the Crimean Bridge, the 12-mile-long link is crucial for keeping Russian troops on the peninsula and up into Russian-controlled southern mainland Ukraine supplied. It has been repeatedly targeted by Ukraine.

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