The Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed the command post of the S-400 air defense system
31 May, 2023 The destroyed Russian 55K6E command center from the S-400 air defense system, May 2023. Photo credits: Dosye Shpiona The first photos capturing the destroyed Russian command post of the S-400 air defense system were published online.
The Telegram channel Dosye Shpiona released the pictures. According to the source, the air defense system was hit in mid-May during an attack on a temporary weapons storage facility in the occupied part of the Kherson region. A HIMARS rocket strike destroyed the Russian 55K6E command and control center of the S-400 air defense system.
Generally, this is the first known case of destruction of this type of equipment. Affecting a system of this class is a rather odd event. After all, the S-400 is an analog of the American long-range Patriot system and is capable of guaranteed interception of ballistic targets, such as GMLRS missiles.
The system's command post cannot saved and the shorter-range air defense system, which should have covered the S-400 as part of the echeloned air defense. These include the Pantsir-S1 air defense system, used in the Russian Aerospace Forces ranks for precisely such tasks.
Pantsir-S1 covers the positions of the S-400 air defense system
Destruction of the S-400 launcher
In December of last year, Militarnyi already reported on the destruction of the Russian S-300PM air defense system launcher in the Berdiansk district of the Zaporizhzhia region. However, already in January, the Ukraine Weapons Tracker analyst team published photos that proved that the destroyed vehicle was a 5P85SM2-01 launcher with 5V55R missiles of the Russian S-400 air defense system.
Destroyed 5P85SM2-01 launcher of the Russian S-400 air defense system, January 2023
55?6?
The 55K6E control center is designed for automated control and coordination of the S-400 air defense system components.
55K6E received a modern elemental base compared to its 5K56S Soviet predecessor, for example, Russian-made Elbrus-90 microprocessors, data transmission equipment, intra-system telecode and voice communication, etc. The system is placed on the chassis of the Ural-5323 8x8 heavy-duty off-road truck.
S-400 air defense system command centre based on the Ural-5323 truck chassis. Photo from open sources
U55K6E command centre has five such unified workplaces:
- air defense system commander;
- air traffic control operator;
- two fire control operator workplaces;
- technological and combat support workplace.
55K6E operators` workplace of the S-400 air defense system.
Photo from open sources
The workplaces use 18-inch multifunctional color liquid crystal indicators.
The mass-dimensional characteristics of the 55K6E are half the size of the similar 55K6E from the S-300PMU1 air defense system.