Oh, Russia has ground-based, midcourse missile interception technologies, alrite. The following semi-official source, quoting Gen. Yuri Solovyov, claims " the S-400 is capable of detecting and simultaneously engaging upto six targets out to a range of 400 km (250 miles), including aircraft and cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles up to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty limits of a range of upto 3,500 km and a speed of 4.8 km/s. See:
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In April 2004, the 48N6DM interceptor successfully intercepted a ballistic missile during tests at Kaputsin Yar in Astrakhan at a range of over 460 km. Carlo Kopp, Research Fellow in Regional Military Strategy at the Monash Asia Institute, and who's published several articles for trade publications such as Defence Today, Air International, Jane's and Journal of Electronic Defense, also claims that the radar system possess advanced capabilities against low-flying RCS stealth aircraft, small cruise missiles, and even future low RCS re-entry vehicles. In principle, the missile is capable of independent tracking, via its 40N6(E2) multifunctional illumination & guidance radar (x-band), upto a distance of little over 400 km (target acquisition at 900 km), extendable ofcourse via forward-deployed (S-band) 96L6(E) all-altitude detection and target designation multiphased array surveillance radars, just as the US GMD employs Forward Based X-Band Radars (FBXB) such as the Sea based X band platform — from Raytheon. But independent detection ranges of upto 500-600 km have been theorized for future radars (such as the 55Zh6-1 Nebo-U GRAVE STONE RADARS: modified TOMB STONE engagement radars, said to be the only radar with a digital phased-array antenna that works in the metric-wave band. The radar's deeply modified Yagi-type aerials allow for a detection range up to 600 km for targets flying between 40-75,000 m.).
I speculate here, but China's recent mid-course interception test may have been of a modified, China-specific version of the S-400. Reports surfaced in 2008 (Jane's likely) of China being interested in a simplified version of the S-400, which was also targeting the export-market, with China having reportedly already spent $500 million on it. It was also reported that China may have been part of the development process.
Several other journalistic entries covering China's mid-course missile interception test, also seem to support the claim that Russia also possesses the capability:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01/11/world/AP-AS-China-Missile-Defense.html?_r=1
defence.professionals | defpro.com
China says it successfully tests ground-based missile defense system | Washington Examiner
Interestingly, Russia has also offered the system to the (UAE) United Arab Emirates and Greece, with Turkey and more recently Iran, also having expressed interest in it.
South Korea is also developing a much simplified version of the S-400 to counter the North Korean missile-threat, called the Cheolmae-2, with the help of Almaz's Central Design Bureau. It apparently consists of an X-band multifunction radar vehicle constructed by Almaz, a command-post vehicle by Samsung Thales and several transporter-erector-launchers for Korean-
ized 9M96 missiles.
Not to be left out of the fun, India also has "expressed interest" in the system, although on 23 August 2009, RIA Novosti reported their sources indicate that Russia will not export the S-400 for the next few years.
