HIMARS and ATACMS missiles are considered very unpleasant targets for the Russian S-350 Vityaz air defense system.
Russia’s S-350 Air Defense System is likely to soon confront HIMARS and ATACMS Missiles on the Ukrainian Battlefield, the above mentioned scenario seems very interesting.
According to reports, Russia started developing the S-350 defense system to replace the old Buk and S-300PS air defense systems right from 2007, but this missile complex has seen combat recently in 2020.
In 2021, it was announced that the Russian Army is sending all S-350 complexes in service to the Crimean peninsula under russian control.
The launcher of the S-350 defense system is designed to hold upto 12 anti-aircraft missiles of the 9M96E type. At the same time, this system is capable of tracking up to 72 air targets and launching 8 missiles quickly at the same time to destroy aerial threats.
The S-350 radar is of a advanced type, it is capable of guiding missiles up to the range of 120 kilometers and altitude of 30km.
According to assessment of Russian Military Experts, the range and power of the S-350 defense system is much larger and powerful as compared to S-300 and Buk Systems.
There are many different types of air attacks, tactical aircrafts, bombers, fighter aircrafts, tactical ballistic missiles, etc. The S-350 is most effective against high-altitude targets.
Meanwhile, the S-350 is also capable of taking down low-flying targets at an altitude of 30 Kilometers. The missile system launcher is mounted on a wheeled off-road truck.
A Battery of the S-350 defense system is designed to engage 72 targets at a time. Unlike the S-300, which is able to engage only 24 targets. The effectiveness of the S-350 has been increased three times.
With the above-mentioned features, the S-350 is expected to successfully destroy the missiles launched from HIMARS and other similar rocket artillery systems, a work which the Buk, S-400 and other russian defence systems are unable to do.
However, according to the statements made by the Ukrainian side, Russians do not believe in the capabilities of the S-350 defense system, that is why they have deployed the S-350 defense system to protect their rear facilities, not the front lines.
Overall, the above mentioned features and capabilities of the S-350 Air Defense System are still only on paper, it still needs to be verified on the battlefield, it should be remembered that the S-400, Buk-M3, etc are still advertised by Russia to create an invulnerable shield but the reality on the battlefield is something very different.