Moscow’s ‘Triumph’: Why everyone wants S-400 air-defense systems

The Russian hardware has proven itself more than capable time and again while repelling Ukrainian air raids

About 200 fixed-winged unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down during the most recent Ukrainian air raid on Russian regions, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.

According to available information, combined air-defense battalions were employed in repelling the attack; in addition to the Pantsir and Tor surface-to-air missile systems, these units include the long- and medium‑range S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system. As the military informally acknowledge, these systems are “tuned” for other enemy targets – primarily Western-made ballistic and cruise missiles such as ATACMS or Storm Shadow.

On November 18, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked Voronezh with four ATACMS missiles and, as the Russian Ministry of Defense reported, S-400 systems and Pantsir missile and gun systems took part in intercepting the targets. Debris from these missiles, which were aimed at civilian facilities, damaged the roofs of several buildings; there were no casualties in the city. ATACMS can be considered quite a difficult target, but not for the S-400 – the system is capable of engaging targets at ranges up to 60km and altitudes up to 25km. The speed of an intercepted missile can be hypersonic, up to 4.8 kilometers per second, which is 14 times the speed of sound.

The foiled strike on a Russian city is just one episode of the S-400’s effective combat performance. There are others – for example, combating the guided rockets of the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, also of American manufacture. And the pinnacle of skill for the Russian SAM system is considered to be destroying in the air the surface-to-air guided missiles of the system with which the Triumf is often compared: the American MIM-104 Patriot. This Summer, it became known that Russian air-defense troops shot down about two dozen Western-made missiles with which the Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to strike aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Unlike ATACMS and HIMARS munitions, which fly along a predictable, virtually unchanging ballistic trajectory, surface-to-air missiles maneuver actively in flight, which complicates their interception. “It is the S-400 systems that demonstrate the highest effectiveness in such interceptions,” the Russian Ministry of Defense reported.

“The S-400 Triumf is one of the most modern and best-known surface-to-air missile systems in the world,” says Yan Novikov, director general of the Almaz‑Antey aerospace defense concern. “The S-400’s range and the ability to use different types of missiles make the Triumf the most powerful air-defense system. Its performance parameters have been confirmed in real combat conditions, and so far no foreign air-defense system in this class can compete with the ‘four-hundred.’”

Russian air-defense systems consistently attract interest from foreign customers. The first foreign buyer of the S-400 Triumf was China. Moscow and Beijing reached an agreement to supply several battalions of this Russian SAM system. In 2017, a contract was signed to supply the Triumf to a NATO country – Türkiye.

In October 2018, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, the largest deal in the history of military-technical cooperation between the two countries was concluded: a contract worth $5.43 billion to supply India with five regimental sets of the S-400 system.

On December 4–5, 2025, Putin will pay a state visit to India. Given the specially privileged strategic partnership between Moscow and New Delhi, there is speculation that the countries will agree on new deliveries of both proven and prospective weaponry. For example, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh indicated that during the meeting between Putin and Modi, the supply of additional S-400 systems would be discussed.