Overview
- Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said on December 17 that the inaugural S-500 unit had entered combat duty during the ministry’s year-end meeting.
- Russian sources claim detection to about 600 kilometers and engagement ranges up to roughly 500 kilometers, including ballistic and aerodynamic targets and some low‑orbit satellites.
- Interesting Engineering reports the fielding coincides with a new Aerospace Forces division that merges air and missile defense functions.
- Independent analysis describes the S-500 as an upper‑tier complement to S‑400 batteries, with limited numbers and uncertain ability to reliably track and kill stealth or hypersonic targets in combat.
- Officials have not disclosed the deployment site or confirmed combat use, though earlier reporting linked trial positioning to protection of strategic infrastructure such as the Kerch Strait and Moscow.