Aside from all sorts of political considerations, Chinese and Indian strategic planners will have to assess carefully the strict military dimension of the missile strike that the United States launched against a government-controlled airbase in Syria early on Friday.
China and India are both clients of Russia’s arms industry, and have bought a number of S-400 long-range air defense missile systems. The Kremlin is a historical ally of Damascus and deployed batteries of this advanced missile platform at the Khmeimim airbase near Latakia in western Syria after its intervention in support of President Bashar al-Assad.
On paper, the S-400 system is designed to destroy aircraft, drones, and cruise and ballistic missiles up to 400 kilometers away; it is also equipped with a radar able to detect targets at a range of 600km. Since its installation in Syrian territory, the action of Western and Turkish warplanes in support of rebel forces has been limited.
The presence of S-400 platforms in the Syrian theater possibly influenced the US strategy of attack against the Assad regime. The USS Porter and USS Ross, two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers stationed in the eastern Mediterranean, bombarded the Shayrat airbase in central Syria, which the Syrian Air Force used to launch suspected chemical attacks that left dozens of civilians dead in rebel-held Khan Shaykhun.
Though the Pentagon informed the Russian military beforehand of the impending operation, the US military command decided to attack from a safe distance. Tomahawk missiles have a range of 1,600km and their use in place of strike aircraft was probably intended to minimize potential losses caused by the very fast and precise S-400 surface-to-air missiles.
This could mean that the Pentagon acknowledges the effectiveness of the S-400 against warplanes and the electronic jamming capabilities of the US EA-18G Growler jets, which can weaken the operability of the Russian air shield in Syria but not neutralize it completely.
Thus the S-400’s deterrent function against aircraft sorties appears to be confirmed by the military option chosen by the United States to punish Assad. Chinese and Indian generals will be delighted with this outcome, which proves they have been right to bet on the S-400 system for their respective air defenses.
In particular, Delhi can reasonably be confident it will manage to undercut Beijing’s airborne capacities so as to gain aerial strategic parity in the Himalayan region, where the two countries have long-standing border disputes.
S-400’s vulnerability to swarm missile attacks
On the other hand, the barrage of Tomahawks demonstrated the Pentagon’s capacity to perforate the Russian defenses in Syria, possibly showing the vulnerability of the S-400 to low-flying missiles with small radar cross-sections.
The S-400 radar probably detected the Tomahawk swarm but the firing system apparently did not attempt to hit any missiles. It is now an open question whether Moscow’s military command in Syria deliberately opted not to engage the US missiles once informed of the imminent attack or, in contrast, was unable to react.
The Russian camp obviously leans toward the first scenario. In Moscow’s view, the interception of US Tomahawks by the S-400 system would have provoked a dangerous escalation. The fact that, after the US strike, Moscow announced its intention to strengthen the Syrian air defenses, however, is a sign that the Russian defense shield in war-torn Syria needs some improvements.
That said, all types of air defense systems, including the S-400, are still in large part untested as to whether they can resist multiple missile attacks. India and China should take that into account while focusing on the reinforcement of their own air and missile defenses. In this sense, the S-400’s mixed performance in Syria against the US Tomahawks should at least raise some doubt in Delhi and Beijing over the capabilities of this Russian arms system.
There was absolutely no failure of the S-400 system and any knowledgeable defense expert would realize that. The tomahawks came in low under the radar horizon and took a flight path away from where the S-400 was deployed. In order to defend that type of attack you needed point defense systems like the Tor-m2 deoloyed around the sharyat airbase which was the target. S-400 served it’s purpose of denying a manned aircraft attack, but in order to tackle the swarm of low flying cruise missiles you needed point defenses. One battalion of Tor-m2 would have been enough to repel all 59 tomahawks.
it was very clever to use missiles and not aircrafts. if a missile would hit an aircraft
The plethora of informed opinions is amazing. The reality is the United States currently has the largest and best armed military in the world. Those Tomahaks have been effectively used in combat against soviet designed air defense systems since the first gulf war. Also, it does not matter how good your defense system is, if you don’t turn it on or engage it it because a target and not an asset. The reality is the Syrian lost 20 of their best aircraft and the US spent $60 million and the Russians now have a lot of questions to answer.
Unfortunately your post makes very little sense.
So you are for the gassing of civilians? You want Asad to continue gassing women and children? Nice. Got it.
Which recolonization efforts are those again? You think the U.K. Wants to recolonize India? That’s absurd.
By the way, don’t rapid and fast mean the same thing in the English language?
First of all, the US would NEVER strike Beijing without being attacked first, period. Second of all, why would the US ever strike Delhi, our ally? It seems you are throwing everything against the wall to see what will stick. Perhaps you don’t like that the US and India are allies? I am not sure what you motivations are, but it sounded like saber rattling for no reason at all.
The people of the United States made China rich…you only have to look at the US trade deficit the past ten years to know that is true.
You are an idiot and know nothing
Ly Tran Le Nguyen Yeah, they have no idea what they are talking about…and the guy writing the article knows little more. The S-400 cannot get a lock on an F-22 or F-35, especially when coupled with jamming. They didn’t pick up and attack the Tomahawks and the F-22 and F-35 have smaller radar cross sections. Please. These guys are just war boy propagandists for Russia and China.
Ly Tran Le Nguyen Because the Russians said so, so he parroted it as one of their stooges. They had multiple Tomahawks targeted at each hardened shelter and they all hit home. The stuff he posted is Russian propaganda BS.
It was obvious that they didn’t try to shoot down the Tomahawks. That is part of the deconfliction agreement which was suspended. The fact that the Russians suspended the agreement is a sign that they will resist the next attack.
How many S-400s do the Russian’s have in Syria? Probalby not even 60 all up rounds, so they could fire off their entire supply and even if they scored hits with every one (good luck with that) the US DDGs would just fire more.
Eden Ynayan it seems you are making fun of China. I can not blame you. A lot of people do. That is based on a myth- a myth based on various factors, one of them is the constant Western media nurturing this type of image. For many in the Western world can not conceive the idea of a communist country who few decades earlier was real poor, and all of the sudden she becomes the second more powerful economic power in the world. On top of that, she doesn’t go with some of their political values. Even though she is constanly indoctrinated by the Western. When she is denied the entrance into a door, she creates one and her door looks more promising than theirs.
China’s potency as industrial force is daunting, now. She has broken all of their negative predictions and come out victorious. And that it is not becuase she sells your glasses, wrist watches, or your clothes and other menial things but becuase her potency as an industrial might. She has already passed USA in various areas of technology and expertise and the moving roller keep moving up. I think that is what they are afraid of.
NRobraed Tria lol� so says a civilian Ex Dancer living in a lullaby. Come and join the military and then talk with the big boys, till then wear panties and finger yourself.
Really? Explain to me why or how the Israelis could fly in and out of Syrian to attack with impunity? Don’t tell me that they had a deal with the Russians to do so because it’s total B.S.
How did you know that only "small fraction of them landed near the targets"? That’s right. You don’t know.
You wouldn’t know the difference between a Tomahawk missile and an ax with the same name.
Well the Russians tested their S400 against tiny little Tommy ….and they jammed few but didn’t not fire missiles at them from Growler (why to waste missile when u can jam a few ) …Russians were informed well ahead of about 2 hours before strike ,that means they had enough time to alert all the technical staff concerned with operating S400 at western most airbase ……but they were busy making Syrians get out of the base along with some of the best operating planes from that airbase ….it was all well made drama to fool American Neocons that trump is not Putin’s puppet but in fact he is one ….