The Russian Federation claims that the C-500 SPR is able to intercept Western missiles: what experts say
Army recognition writes about it. The characteristics of this system can be compared with the ballistic Medium Range "Oryshnik". The system, also known as the 55r6m Triumphfer-M ", was armed with Russian air defense troops in May 2021, and in early January 2025 Russia announced plans for deploying up to twelve C-500 systems to protect the Crimean bridge, at the same time production should increased to meet the operational needs.
Several Western countries are currently developing hypersonic missile systems with opportunities that can be compared to the "Oryshnik". There are several projects in the US, including Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW), or Dark Eagle, corrected weapons of the Earth-Earth class with a distance of about 2776 km.
Work on Hypersonic Air-Breating Weapon Concept (HAWC) is also underway-a winged air base rocket capable of developing speed above 5 strokes; There is also AGM-183a Air-Launched Rapid Respense Weapon (ARRW), which is created to achieve a speed of more than 7 strokes. For its part, France develops ASN4G (Air-Sol Nucléaire de 4ème Génération), a hypersonic winged wing of a nuclear-weapon air base, which is expected to replace the ASMPA rocket by 2035.
Lockheed Martin is working on hypersonic MAKO, it is intended for use with modern invisible fighters such as F-35 and F-22. The C-500 Triumphfator-M is designed to counteract a wide range of air threats: stealth-shaft, intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles and even low-orbiting satellites. The maximum range of SPRs is 600 km, the height of the flight is 200 km, which exceeds the capabilities of C-300 and C-400 systems.
The C-500 uses rockets 77H6-H and 77H6-H1, which support high-speed kinetic interception, including hypersonic purposes. The possibility of affecting satellites in low Earth orbit can potentially disrupt NATO's observation and communication near Crimea, the authors of the publication say.
Despite the possibility of the "Oryshnik", the interception of such a hypersonic missile with the help of C-500 is considered primarily at the initial stage of the flight, until the hypersonic velocity is achieved, the representatives of the Russian Federation say. Prometheus C-500 can have this opportunity, while the Western systems, including the US defense system at high Thaad height, may come across difficulties when intercepting such high-speed goals.
The Thaad system has demonstrated opportunities against small and medium -range ballistic missiles at the end stage of flight, both inside and outside the atmosphere, but its effectiveness against hypersonic missiles remains limited. Hypersonic rockets that move at a speed exceeding 5 strokes and can be unpredictable maneuvering are problems for which Thaad was not initially intended.
However, contrary to such a statement, it seems that the C-500 is not the only air defense system that has either demonstrated or for which the possibilities of intercepting hypersonic missiles are being developed. The Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3 MSE) missile segment system has been reported to have intercepted hypersonic rockets that maneuver, including Russian "dagger" in Ukraine.
AEGIS of the US Navy, which uses the SM-3 Block IIA interceptor, has intercepted the target of intercontinental ballistic missile (IBR) in November 2020, which indicates potential applicability against high-speed threats. The Arrow 3 Israeli system, which has been operating since 2017, intercepts ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere and affects hypersonic targets, including Kheibar Shekan Iranian missiles.
In addition, the US Navy is moving with plans for integration of PAC-3 MSE interceptors to strengthen protection against hypersonic threats. In parallel, the United States in collaboration with Japan is developing Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) to defeat hypersonic missiles at the planning stage. GPI is intended for deployment at the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense and AEGIS ASHORE systems.
Aegis Sea-Based Terminal (SBT) offers limited capabilities against certain hypersonic missiles at certain stages of the trajectory flight. Germany develops Iris-T SLX, IRIS-T missile system with 80 km operating radius and 30 km high. We will remind that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation faced problems in the area of Pokrovsk, the Armed Forces took the initiative, the analysts of Deepstate said.