Russia will start preliminary tests of S-500 air defense missile systems in 2020.

Russian Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko has announced on Saturday, December 28, 2019, that Russia will start preliminary tests of its latest air defense missile system S-500 Prometheus in 2020. Russia has launched the production of S-500 in February 2018. In May 2018, Russia has conducted the longest range surface-to-air missile test to date with the S-500.

Russian-made S-500 Prometheus air defense missile system.  (Picture source Internet Russia)

According to the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda , the first S-500 production model is expected to be delivered in 2025. The S-500 missile system is an upgraded version of the current S-400 Triumph system. It is designed to intercept and destroy InterContinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), as well as hypersonic cruise missiles and aircraft using jamming systems.

According to Russian military sources, the S-500 will have a maximum firing range of 600 km against for anti-ballistic missile (ABM) and 500 km for aerial threats. The S-500 would be able to detect and simultaneously engage up to 10 ballistic hypersonic targets flying at a speed of 5 kilometers per second (3.1 mi/s; 18,000 km/h; 11,000 mph) to a limit of 7 km/s (4.3 mi/s; 25,000 km/h; 16,000 mph). The S-500 air defense system will be able to track and destroy ballistic missiles with ranges of up to 3,500 kilometers.

The S-500 will be a mobile air defense missile system with launcher canisters mounted on 10x10 military truck chassis BAZ-69096.

A battery of S-500 air defense missile systems will include 77P6 launch vehicles based on the BAZ-69096 10x10 truck, 55K6MA and 85Zh6-2 command posts based on BAZ-69092-12 6x6, 91N6A(M) acquisition and battle management radar which is a modification of the 91N6 (Big Bird) towed by the BAZ-6403.01 8x8 tractor, 96L6-TsP acquisition radar an upgraded version of the 96L6 (Cheese Board) on BAZ-69096 10x10, 76T6 multimode engagement radar on BAZ-6909-022 8x8 truck chassis and 77T6 ABM engagement radar on BAZ-69096 10x10.