S-400 Air Defense - Why Every Wealthy Country Wants to Acquire it?

This video discusses the S-400 air defense system developed by Russia. This system coupled with other weapons such as their hypersonic missiles announced recently proves that Russia poses a serious challenge to the US military might. The S-400 is a massive upgrade to the S-300, which was the Soviet Union’s answer to the American Patriot missile batteries introduced during the Cold War. S-400 is already deployed in Russia since 2007. In 2017 the S-400 was described by The Economist as "one of the best air-defense systems currently made". According to Siemon Wezeman Senior Researcher of SIPRI the S-400 "is among the most advanced air defense systems available". This is the reason why Turkey, Saudi Arabia, China and India, and Qatar have acquired or are planning to acquire the S-400 air defense system. The S-400 has several components: a missile launcher that can fire up to four missiles simultaneously, and separate radars — operating on different frequencies — that network together for more accuracy. Note that the S-400 is the real game changer. The reason is the multiple intercept missiles the S-400 system can fire. The S-400 supports four different missiles – the very long range 40N6E-series with range of 400 km, the long range 48N6 with range of 250 km, the 9M96e2 with range of 120 km and the short range 9m96e with range of 40 km. By comparison the US Patriot system supports only one interceptor missile with a range of 96 km. But there is more. The 9M96E2 is one of the jewels of the S-400 system. It flies at Mach 15 i.e. 15 times the speed of sound, i.e. around 18,500 kph, it can engage targets as low as 5 meters off the ground. It is designed to knock out penetrating aircraft and missiles flying “off the deck” or just above ground and neutralize cruise missiles. The S-400 also has capability against ballistic missiles, a feature that surely attracted Saudi Arabia’s interest. How good it is against ballistic missiles? No one knows for sure. The Saudi decision to buy the S-400 is probably linked to Egypt’s earlier purchase of the S-300VM and its desire to get the S-400. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states probably paid for Egypt’s weapons. Almost every government that announced that it was planning to buy the system was threatened with some kind of diplomatic retaliation from the US and NATO. The reason for this blowback is not only because the S-400 is technologically advanced, but also because it poses a potential risk for NATO. The Russian breakthrough makes sense in technological terms. The US does not have a true competitor to the S-400 system and understandably the US is not anxious to see such systems proliferate. "The S-400 is among the most advanced air defense systems available, on par with the best the West has to offer. Its radars and other sensors, as well as its missiles, cover an extensive area - the radar has a range of at least 600km for surveillance, and its missiles have ranges of up to 400km and at a height of up to 30 KM. "It's precise and it manages to track a very large number of potential targets, like aircrafts, missiles, including stealth targets." Another key aspect of the S-400 is the ability to use four different types of missiles with different weights and capabilities, allowing the system by itself to form a large portion of a layered air defense. This makes the S-400 a more flexible system. It also can utilize missiles employed by earlier S-300 variants. Other advantages are its modular setup and high mobility, meaning it can be set up, fired and moved within minutes. It can be mounted on trucks and moved quickly. "It's intended to be a one-size-fits-all missile system. It can be configured with long-range, semi long-range, medium-range and even short-range weapons systems, depending on how the individual user wishes to configure the S-400. It's very rugged, it's adaptable and it's a road-mobile system, something many countries are seeking to evolve to." In 2017, the US implemented the CAATSA i.e. Countering America's Adversaries Thru Sanctions Act to oppose its adversaries like Russia and China. The US Department of State has said that the Chinese purchases of SU-35 aircraft and S-400 surface-to-air missiles breached the CAATSA, only weeks after it said India might be subject to sanctions if it continues with purchasing the system. However, India decided in 2015 to buy the weapons system. It will be delivered soon. Tags- S-400, S-400 Triumf, S-400 Missile Defense system, S-400 anti-Air missile, S-400 VS Patriot, S-400 missile system in action, S-400 Turkey, S-400 India, S-400 China, S-400 Saudi, S-400 VS F-35, S-400 missile dispute, Erdogan on S-400, Modi on S-400, Why Turkey wants to buy S-400, Why India wants to buy S-400,