(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) – Russia’s S-350 “Vityaz” (Brave Warrior) missile system in the special operation zone (Ukraine) has successfully intercepted 12 HIMARS MLRS missiles at once, the commander of Battlegroup Yug’s anti-aircraft missile division told Sputnik 1 .
Also on Thursday the Russian Ministry of Defense for the first time demonstrated the combat use of the Vityaz air defense system 2 .
The video shows Pantsir-S1 and S- 350 SAM system crews are on joint combat alert duty in Donetsk direction protecting Russian troops from airstrikes.
“Not long ago we worked on a large pack of HIMARS MLRS, there were about 12- 16 targets, this system fared successfully, none of the targets (MLRS missiles) reached their point, and accordingly the complex had no difficulty both in detecting and picking off the pack,” the commander said.
According to the serviceman, the target was successfully captured at a range of approximately 90 kilometers. The missile system then maintained a steady tracking and ultimately hit the target at a distance of about 70 kilometers from the system’s location.
“The primary advantage of the missiles in this system is their homing head, which makes maneuvering targets easy to hit. The missile will maneuver parallel to the target,” the commander added.
The Vityaz missile system's superiority over other systems is easily demonstrated through a number of key advantages, analyses Sputnik.
These include its exceptional mobility and maneuverability, as well as its ability to navigate difficult terrain and withstand harsh weather conditions.
This allows for a quicker setup along firing positions.
Furthermore, the system is equipped with an autonomous power supply, eliminating the need for external sources of power.
“The automatic mode of this system works perfectly. Not a single unnecessary missile was launched in this mode. All missiles have reached their targets,” the serviceman said.
In June 2023 Russian Industry Minister Denis Manturov told Sputnik, that S-350 Vityaz anti-aircraft missile system, hit a target in the area of the special operation [in Ukraine] in automatic mode for the first time in the world, using artificial intelligence without the participation of a human.
Russian air defense systems are currently the only systems in the world capable of destroying hypersonic missiles, which, again, only Russian armed forces have at their service, the minister added at the time.
The export version is the S-350E Vityaz.
The S-350E “Vityaz” air defence missile system possesses high tactical and technical performace specifications, allowing it to be used for the defence of administrative, industrial and military facilities from massive strikes of modern and advanced air attack weapons.
The air defence system is capable of simultaneously repelling strikes of various types of air attack weapons from any direction in the entire range of altitudes of their flight – from extremely low to high.
Types of engaged aerodynamic targets:
► aircraft of tactical and strategic aviation, including those made using the Stealth technology;
► cruise missiles;
► helicopters;
► unmanned aerial vehicles;
► aviation weapons.
Types of engaged ballistic targets:
► tactical ballistic missiles;
► operational-tactical ballistic missiles.
Technical Specifications of S-350 Vityaz:
Engagement range (max / min)
aerodynamic targets 120 / 2.5 km
ballistic targets 25/5 km
Engagement altitude (max / min):
aerodynamic targets 25 / 0.01 km
ballistic targets 20/2 km
Maximum speed of engaged targets 2000 m / s
Maximum quantity of simultaneously:
engaged aerodynamic targets 16
engaged ballistic targets 12
guided missiles at aerodynamic targets 32
guided missiles at ballistic targets 24
— DSA