Russia's defense technology sector is touting that Moscow's newest S-500 ‘Prometheus’ air defense system is capable of reaching targets in space, according to the latest statements from the First Deputy General Director of the VKO Almaz-Antey, Sergei Druzin. The VKO Almaz-Antey, or "Air and Space Defense Corporation" is a Russian state-owned company and the country's largest defense tech contractor.
Druzin told RIA Novosti this week that the S-500 can successfully take out “ballistic missiles of all types” and crucially that it's missiles are capable of “working outside the atmosphere where aerodynamic control is impossible.”
This next generation of deadly Russian anti-air defense systems is expected to enter service (or at least prototype testing) by 2020, with the first group of officers set to begin training courses this year, which Russian media has previously described as forming "the backbone" of the country's integrated air defense and missile defense shield.
Russian reports tout the S-500s range as capable of intercepting inbound projectiles at a distance of 600 kilometers. A prior TASS report said it could reach an altitude of 60km, which would put it in the Mesosphere of Earth's atmosphere — though there's long been debate over where 'outer space' technically begins.
We wonder: given the current slow but steady advance in Sino-Russian relations, and given the growing list of countries seeking Russia's current S-400 systems, is it only a matter of time before Beijing gets its hands on advanced S-500 missiles that could take out American stealth jets?
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