Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov recently said that the development of the S-500 Prometheus super-long-range air defense missile system has entered the final stage after each component of the complex was tested individually.
“All the main specifications of the S-500 have been confirmed in the tests and are now ready for mass production,” Manturov said, adding that the delivery of the first complex for the Russian Ministry of Defense will be complete on the schedule.
Thus, after many contradictory predictions, Russian officials finally confirmed that the development of the S-500 is still on the right track, even though the completion of this advanced weapon system is faster than that first plan.
In addition to serving in the Russian Army, it is expected that the S-500 Prometheus will also be licensed for export by Moscow in the near future, this weapon will certainly attract a lot of attention from customers around the world.
However, at this point a question arises, that when Russia quickly exports the S-500, will the demand for the S-400 remain when the new product’s tactical features are clearly more impressive?
Will Triumf be in a situation of “great discount” because no one is asking to buy it, despite the fact that it was once the most expensive item of the Russian defense industry.
If this happens, it is clear that the manufacturer Almaz-Antey will not be happy, because they have a lot of expectations for the S-400 but have only been able to export it to China, Turkey, and India while deal with other countries still on talk phase.
During the current “time of change”, in order to promote the sale of S-400 to the outside, the manufacturer must implement a “promotional” measure, which is to lower the product price to the lowest possible level ?
However, according to experts, the not-so-bright scenario of the S-400 is unlikely, because Triumf and Prometheus are designed for different missions. The strength of the S-400 is anti-aircraft and cruise missiles, while the key role of the S-500 is to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Although Russia advertises that the S-500’s 77N6 missile can also be used to destroy aircraft, its effective range is not much different from the S-400’s 40N6 round because of the horizon limitation. electromagnetic radio of fire radar. Not only that, but the price of the 77N6 missile is also too high, and its ability to intercept low-flying targets is not well appreciated.
Returning to the case of the S-300, the reason why there are no orders for this once-popular air defense system is because Almaz-Antey no longer maintains production to keep the market share for the S-400, not because of the demand.
Therefore, when the S-400 Triumf and S-500 Prometheus basically do not “step on each other’s feet”, it is unlikely that Russia will conduct a big discount on the S-400 price to seek more export contracts.