At the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2022, the air defense of the Russian armed forces will mainly consist of units equipped with missiles that meet the standards of the 21st century, which in addition in most cases they are completely self-propelled, you don’t have to “pack them up” after use and transport them there with another vehicle. Moscow currently has 10 different air defense systems and their sub-variants in active service, let’s see which ones they are.
What was sorely lacking at the beginning of the war: short-range air defense systems
Although we mentioned just a few lines ago that Moscow now uses missiles for air defense more or less in line with the requirements of the modern age, this does not mean that we cannot encounter more outdated devices at all: a small number of the infantry of the Russian Navy still use the ones left over from the Soviet era ZSZU-23-4 Silka self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, which, as their name suggests, are equipped with four 23 mm machine guns. Although the machine guns are radar-guided, these weapons can only shoot fast-moving missiles and fighter-bombers with very good luck at low altitudes. Although they can only be used against drones and helicopters, naval soldiers prefer them because bthey can be deployed with brutal efficiency against buried life forcemoreover – since they are anti-aircraft weapons – they can shoot upwards at a much steeper angle, so they are often more effective in street battles than tanks or other lightly armored vehicles.
Russian troop air defense (air defense moving together with mechanized infantry and tanks) currently the most common, but at the same time one of the most outdated weapons mounted on the infamous MT-LB pszh chassis 9K35 Sztrela series 10. Many variants of this extremely simple and even cheaper device are still actively used today, and regardless of the fact that they are celebrating their fiftieth year this year, they are sometimes able to provide surprising performance:
during the Wagner Rebellion, one of Moscow’s top-of-the-line KA-52 helicopters was shot down by a mercenary Strela-10.
It is interesting that although it preceded the Sztrela-10 series by a good five years, the 3K33 Split short-range air defense system represented a much more forward-looking concept: while with the Sztrela the target designation was often ensured by a separate radar system, while in the case of the Osza these sensors were already installed on top of the vehicle carrying the missiles. The 3K33s formed the backbone of the air defense of the Donbas separatists, despite their advanced age they are still in service today on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides.
One of Moscow’s best-known self-propelled, short-range anti-aircraft guns is certainly the one in service since the 1980s. 2K22 Tunguskawhich is unique in the country combines the designed to destroy slow-moving aerial and lightly armored ground targets machine guns (two 30mm guns were placed on the turret) and anti-aircraft missiles, of which it can deliver eight. Although the Tunguska is also a spectacularly aging weapon, Moscow is trying to keep it in service by developing missiles and radar systems (the most modern M1 variant was put into service in 2017).
The Kremlin’s state-of-the-art short-range air defense system, which is in service in large numbers, has undergone several major overhauls since the second half of the 1980s. 9K330 Tor. Tor – similar to the older Osza – a “packaged” missile launcher and radar systemwhich can detect targets while moving, but at the same time has to stop to fire (Moscow is currently experimenting with the development of a version that can fire confidently while on the move). Tor is more of a point defense weapon than a team air defense weapon, its primary purpose is to provide airspace around important objects, not to support advancing troops.
The Russian team air defense its most modern component manufactured since 2019 9M337 Szoszna-R series.
These weapons are able to measure and then shoot their target even on the fly.
Moscow’s goal with the Szoszna-Rs was to produce a weapon system that was significantly cheaper than a Tor (as well as the medium-range Pancír), and in its basic design was more similar to the “wooden” Osza or Sztrela systems. We have not yet seen the 9M337s in live action.
Designed for object protection: medium-range air defense systems
The backbone of the Russian medium-range air defense is the 9K37 Buk given by the system. Developed from the much older 2K12 Kub M3 in the late 70s, the Buk is basically made up of several components: a battalion usually consists of a fire control system (TAR), six rocket launchers with radar (TELAR) and three simple rocket launchers (TEL) together.
As one of the most modern elements of Russian air defense, the Armored air defense system can be considered an interesting hybrid: its armament consists of rockets and two 30 mm machine guns (similar to the Tunguska), its range exceeds that of the Russian short-range air defenses, but at the same time it is slightly shorter than the medium-range Buk system. Pancíroks are arranged in batteries, with an additional fire control system, and can work independently.
Russian state-of-the-art weapons: long-range air defense
Arguably the most widespread and probably the best-known element of Russian air defense, it has a range of up to 400 kilometers, depending on the variant and deployment method Sz-300 series. According to Russian sources, the Sz-300s are still considered top-class weapons today, regardless of the fact that their first copies entered service in 1978. In the Russo-Ukrainian war, however, the weapon system became known much more for its use as a low-precision ballistic missile launcher (in this case, the missile can reach a range of 400 kilometers), rather than for being overly effective against Ukrainian flying targets. The situation is no better for Western devices either:
For example, Syria has been seriously criticizing the Sz-300s since 2020, as they are unable to intercept Israeli fighter-bombers flying into the airspace.
A significantly improved variant of the Sz-300, in service since 2007 Sz-400 it is considered the jewel of Russian arms exports: military big guns such as India, China, or NATO member Turkey are interested in it, which was therefore excluded from the program for the purchase of F-35 fighter jets. The performance of Sz-400s in Ukraine shows mixed results: they seem perfectly suitable for shooting down fighter jets, but they have problems with drones. This roughly correlates with the Turkish report that the system simply cannot engage slow-moving targets at low altitude.
Cover image: Russian Sz-400 long-range air defense system. Front page image source: Sokolrus via Wikimedia Commons
