Russia to develop S-500 air defense system soon: air force commander
MOSCOW, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Russia's advanced S-500 air defense system could be developed in the near future, the Air Force commander said Wednesday.
The S-500 surface-to-air missile system is currently at the blueprint stage and was expected to be ready by 2012.
"This work is in progress... I think this system will appear in the near future," RIA Novosti quoted Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin as saying.
The S-500 system, which has an extended range of up to 600 km and can simultaneously engage up to 10 targets, was expected to outperform Russia's S-400 system and the U.S. Patriot Advanced Capability-3 system.
The new system was expected to also be capable of destroying hypersonic and ballistic targets.
Last month, the commander said air-space defense brigades will be created within the Russian Air Force and will be equipped with S-400 and S-500 air defense systems in order to counter possible threats from other nations.
Russia to develop S-500 air defense system soon: air force commander_English_Xinhua
Russian Source:http://lenta.ru/news/2009/09/16/c500/