The S-500 Prometheus/Triumfator-M will debut at Army-2024

On Thursday, August 8, 2024, the first close-up photograph of the 77P6 transporter-launcher mounted on the BAZ-69096 10×10 chassis, part of the new generation S-500 Prometheus/Triumfator-M (GRAU index 55R6M) air and missile defense system, appeared on several Russian-language channels on the social media platforms VK and Telegram (e.g. link). According to the information provided, it will make its public debut at the 10th International Military-Technical Forum Army-2024 in Kubinka near Moscow, which will take place from August 12-18 this year.

Photo via VK, Telegram

Until now, the launcher has been shown only once in a video released by the Russian Ministry of Defense on July 20, 2021, from the system’s test firings at the Kapustin Yar range in the Astrakhan region, which were conducted earlier that month. Besides this, other elements of the system have been publicly presented, such as the 96L6-TsP detection radar mounted on the BAZ-69096 10×10 chassis, and a visualization of the export variant of the 40N6 interceptor missile, the 40N6E, which was also intended to be part of the S-400 Triumf system’s armament.

The debut of the launcher at Army-2024 is particularly interesting because, according to Ukrainian reports from June 12 of this year, the only operational S-500 battery was said to have been deployed in the area of the Crimean Bridge in Russian-occupied Crimea. However, on June 28 of this year, a Ukrainian MGM-140 ATACMS ballistic missile with a cluster warhead reportedly struck one of the radars of this battery. Although the missile strike caused a local fire, there has been no visual confirmation of these claims so far. Earlier, on April 23 of this year, the then-Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu mentioned plans to deploy the system at an undisclosed location.

The first information about the S-500 system (whose designation refers to the unrealized S-500U anti-aircraft system project from the 1960s, which was planned to have a range of up to 100 km) appeared in 2009. The work was overseen by the company PVO Almaz-Antey (now VKO Almaz-Antey). In 2011, it was declared that serial production would begin as early as 2014. The first visualization of the transporter-launcher appeared in the company’s corporate calendar for 2015. According to the original schedule, the system was supposed to enter service in 2016.

It wasn’t until February 2021 that it was announced that the prototype set would soon be delivered to the customer, and five months later, as mentioned, a video from the first trials was presented. Subsequently, on October 13 of the same year, the system entered experimental service with the 1st Special Purpose Air and Missile Defense Army, decorated with the Order Of Lenin, in the Moscow region. The delay relative to the original plan was therefore five years.

Previously presented 96L6-TsP detection radar / Photo: Vitaly V. Kuzmin

The S-500 battery, in its basic configuration, consists of the following components: the 77P6 transporter-launcher, command vehicles 55K6MA and 85Zh6-2 mounted on BAZ-69092-12 6×6 chassis, the 91N6A(M) detection and battle management radar towed by a BAZ-6403.01 8×8 tractor (a modification of the 91N6 radar; NATO designation: Big Bird), the aforementioned 96L6-TsP detection radar (an improved version of the 96L6 radar; NATO designation: Cheese Board), the 76T6 multi-mode fire control radar on a BAZ-6909-022 8×8 chassis, and the 77T6 fire control radar for ballistic targets on a BAZ-69096 10×10 chassis.

The primary armament of the system is expected to be the aforementioned new 40N6 interceptor missile, which was first revealed during Army-2018. According to the data presented at that time, the effective range was to be 380 km (previously mentioned as 400 km, while the claimed range of 600 km, which can be found in many online sources, is incorrect), with a minimum range of 5 km.

The interception of ballistic missile targets is expected to be possible within a radius of 35 km. The maximum engagement altitude is 35 km. The average missile speed is 1,190 m/s. The launch weight is 1,893 kg, and with the launch container, it is 2,600 kg. The container itself is 7,825 mm long and 1,000 mm in diameter. Preparation for launch takes 15 seconds. The transporter-launcher can carry a maximum of two missile containers. The missile’s service life is 15 years. The system is also expected to use 77N6-N/N1 missiles with a hit-to-kill kinetic warhead.