Russia Using S-400 Air Defences to Blunt Ukraine’s Patriot Missile Attacks and Protect Su-35 Fighter Units

A Russian defence industry source speaking to state media has revealed that ground-based air defence systems, and in particular the S-400 long range system, have played a significant role in defending fighter aircraft on the frontlines from surface-to-air missile attacks by Ukraine’s own long range air defences. The American MIM-104 Patriot system delivered from 2023 by multiple NATO members, and the Soviet S-200 which was brought back into service some time in 2023-2024 with Polish support, providing respective engagement ranges of 200 and 300 kilometres against high flying Russian aircraft. The Russian S-400 system launches missiles capable of intercepting targets at far higher speeds than the Patriot and S-200, allowing it to shoot down surface-to-air missiles launched by the two Ukrainian operated systems with its own surface-to-air missiles.

Elaborating on the use of the S-400 and other systems to intercept Ukrainain surface-to-air attacks, the defence industry source reported: “Attempts by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to limit strikes by Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft using Western-made anti-aircraft missile systems are being thwarted by Russian air defence systems. During the joint military operation, Russian air defence combat crews successfully intercept Western-made anti-aircraft guided missiles attacking Russian operational-tactical aviation while carrying out combat missions to destroy the enemy on the ground and in the air.” The source specified that while the Ukrainian Armed Forces had been actively using S-200 and Patriot against Russian Su-34 and Su-35 fighters: “over the past year and a half, Russian air defence crews have intercepted nearly two dozen Western-made anti-aircraft guided missiles that attacked Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft at supersonic speeds – from 870 to 1,178 meters per second (up to 3.5 Mach).” “Moreover, about half of them are MIM-104D missiles of the American Patriot air defence system,” he added.

Reports of Russian air defence systems shooting down Ukrainian surface-to-air missiles are far from unprecedented. On February 23, 2024 the Russian Defence Ministry reported that alongside MiG-29 fighter, a Mi-8 helicopter, seven Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles and multiple drones, Russian aviation and air defence systems had over the past week also shot down a guided missile from a Ukrainian Patriot system. The surface to air missiles fired by the Patriot fly at only Mach 3.5 speeds, with some sources reporting maximum speeds of Mach 5, while missiles fired by the S-400 fly at speeds exceeding Mach 14.

The possibility of Russian surface-to-air missile systems also being relied on to provide cover against air-to-air missiles has the potential to be significantly more revolutionary still, as NATO members rely much more on air-to-air than on surface-to-air targeting. Although the technological standing of Russian fighter aircraft has diminished significantly relative to their Western and Chinese counterparts since the disintegration of the USSR, Russian air defence systems still retain considerable advantages, with the use of the S-400 to blunt attacks by Patriot systems taking advantage of key capability gaps between the two systems.