S-500 Samoderzhets

Serial production of the latest Russian anti-aircraft missile system S-500 will begin in the second half of 2020. This was announced by the head of Rostec Sergey Chemezov in an interview 16 September 2019 with the RVS newspaper. “I think the serial production will be in a year,” Chemezov said, answering the corresponding question. According to him, in the next five years, Russia will not export these systems, because "first of all, you need to provide your army and only after that have to export it." At the same time, Chemezov emphasized that the S-400 is now in great demand.

At the end of April 2019, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov announced that the development of the S-500 system was in its final stages. Earlier, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu, reported that the supply of this system to the troops will begin in 2020. Specialists have been trained to work on it since 2017 at the base of the Military Academy of East Kazakhstan region in Tver.

The latest Russian anti-aircraft missile systems S-500 should appear in the army in the near future. In 2019, the first group of officers to work with them will complete their training, Lieutenant-General Vladimir Lyaporov, head of the Military Academy of Aerospace Defense, told the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper 01 March 2019. "I note that in 2019 there will be the first graduation of officers who graduate from the academy under a training program for work on the S-500 complex, which is not yet in the army, but we expect it soon," said the general.

He clarified that the military are currently studying under the programs of work with the S-500 complexes at the training center for the training of specialists in anti-aircraft missile forces in Gatchina (Leningrad region).

Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported that deliveries of the S-500 system to the troops would begin in 2020. The complex is created with the possibility of operation in the next 25 years.

In 2004 it was reported that the merged Almaz-Antei consortium had developed a new surface-to-air missile system designated Samoderzhets (Autocrat, not Emperor). This nomenclature is probably associated with the S-500 designation, though some sources associate the Samodyerzhets designation with the S-400M [formerly SA-20 Gargoyle B, later SA-21B Growler B]. Not all sources would associate Samoderzhets with S-500. According to one source "The S-500 has been described as an S-300P follow-on system. The S-500 will likely not enter development for some time, and will represent the next generation of Russian SAM systems, perhaps finally breaking out of the S-300P family's mold."

The new Samoderzhets missile system was described as being "fifth-generation" -- the term fourth-generation having been used to describe the S-400 Triumf. It may combine the ground systems, radar, and shorter range 9M96 and 9M96/2 missiles of the S-400 with the long-range 9M82M missile originally developed for the S-300VM Antei-2500. The Samoderzhets system could be the same "fifth generation" system as that referenced in a January 2007 report in Voyennykh Novostey, which quoted Antei designers saying that the new system would be available by 2012.

Russia's new generation S-500 air defense system will resolve the country's missile defense problems when it enters service, Air Force Commander Colonel General Alexander Zelin said in July 2010. "The S-500 air defense system is a system that will solve Russia's missile defense problems," Zelin said. Answering a question about the S-500's technical specifications, Zelin said: "I would not compare the S-500 with the U.S. missile defense since they have different technical characteristics".

Russia’s Almaz-Antey concern will build two plants to manufacture formidable S-500 air defense systems, Chief of the General Staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov said in November 2011. “We gave Almaz-Antey two years to build two plants, which will manufacture new S-500 air defense missile systems in the future,” Makarov said. At that time, the first deliveries of S-500 were officially expected in 2015, but some Russian experts believed they were more likely to start in 2017, at the earliest.

Russia’s Almaz-Antey concern will finish the development of the advanced S-500 air defense system by 2017, two years later than the deadline announced earlier, the company’s General Director Vitaly Neskorodov said in February 2012. The S-500, a long-range air defense missile system, is expected to become the backbone of a unified aerospace defense system being formed in Russia. Neskorodov said in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper that the complexity of technical solutions used in this unique system and some management problems led to the delay in the development. “We have to step up the work and make up for lost time,” he said. “Nevertheless, we will have prototypes of several components of the system ready for testing by the end of 2012.”

On 27 June 2012 Air Force commander Maj.Gen. Viktor Bondarev said Russia's Armed Forces could receive the first of its next-generation S-500 air defense missile systems as early as in 2013. "I think that as soon as next year we will get the first of these (S-500) systems in service," Bondarev said at a RIA Novosti press conference dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Russian Air Force.

The S-500 will reportedly have an extended range of up to 600 kilometers (over 370 miles) and simultaneously engage up to 10 targets. The S-500 air defense system will be able to track and destroy ballistic missiles with ranges of up to 3,500 kilometers. This system will be able to defend territories at heights of up to 50 kilometers.

The Russian military has demanded that the system must be capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and hypersonic cruise missiles and plans to order at least ten S-500 battalions for the future Russian Aerospace Defense. The S-500 could become a trump card in Russia’s response to the U.S.-backed European missile shield, which Moscow believes may threaten Russia’s nuclear deterrent. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has proposed setting up a government body responsible for consolidating efforts aimed at the creation of an effective aerospace defense network in the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin conducted six meetings on key arms programs from 27-29 November 2013 in Sochi. Almaz-Antey general designer Pavel Sozinov told the Russian president that the S-500 SAM system is approaching the “finish line” with testing planned in 2014-15, and the new medium-range S-350E Vityaz should reach units in 2015-16. The first production lines in new Almaz-Antey plants in Nizhny Novgorod and Kirov will begin operating in 2015, according to Sozinov.

In 2016, the Russian military will start deploying the long-range surface-to-air missile systems S-500, chief of the Russian Air Forces said August 10, 2014. Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev gave an outline of his branch's modernization plans, including the build-up of Arctic infrastructure, in a radio interview with the Russian News Service station. The S-500, a state-of-the-art long-range air defense system developed by Almaz Antei, Bondarev said. The producer is finalizing new missiles for the system, which would have advanced homing electronics.

Lieutenant-General Viktor Gumenny, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, said in February 2018 that the S-500 will be supplied to the Air Space Forces in the near future. According to open sources, the C-500 will be able to detect and simultaneously hit up to ten ballistic targets flying at speeds up to 7 km / s, as well as combat blocks of hypersonic cruise missiles. It is assumed that the combat capabilities of the S-500 will significantly exceed the S-400 and its competitor - the American PAC-3 (the latest version of the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system).

Test firing of the S-500 air defense system was carried out by the Russian military in July 2021. According to the Ministry of Defense, the tests confirmed the tactical and technical characteristics and reliability of the air defense (air defense) of Russia. On 16 September 2021, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov announced the receipt of the S-500 "Prometheus" anti-aircraft missile systems in the Russian Armed Forces after state tests. On 13 October 2021, the S -500 anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) entered service with the 15th Special Forces Army of the Russian Aerospace Forces, which covers Moscow and the Central Industrial Region of the country.