The outcome of hostilities by Azerbaijan’s army in Karabakh proved Russia’s air defense systems were not ready for modern war. SAM systems by Russia may be exported merely through political leverage and corruption schemes by the top leaders of the countries importing these weapons.
In November 2012, the Government of Iraq said it was tearing up a $ 4.2 billion deal with Russia, ceasing the import of its fighters, helicopters and missiles over suspicion the contract had a corruption element. That same year, Transparency International, the global organization leading the fight against corruption, framed Russia’s defense industry leaders and the main exporters of Russian weapons as the most non-transparent companies in the world. TI identified particularly Almaz-Antey, the Air Defense Corporation among the corrupt companies.
In Greece, Defense Ministry Armaments Department chief deputy, Antonis Kadas, was convicted in January 2014 for receiving multimillion-dollar bribes for backing contracts of, inter alia, Russia’s SA-8 Gecko ADS purchase, in 1996-2002.
In October 2018, thefts of more than 100 million rubles were brought to light at Moscow-based Avangard plant – the sole missile producer for the SA-10 Grumble and SA-21 Growler systems.
A faulty batch of S-400 missiles for China might have been the reason they were destroyed under the guise of being damaged while carried by sea in the winter of 2019.
In January 2020, lansinginstitute.org analysts have already voiced doubts whether Russia’s air defense systems are effective. Such doubts stemmed from inability to detect the target precisely and two large civil aircraft downed by Russia-made SAMs: a Ukrainian flight in Iran and a Malaysian flight by Russia’s SAM SA-11 Gadfly over eastern Ukraine in 2014.
The SA-10 Grumble air defense systems by Russia proved to be totally unfunctional against tactical missiles and aircraft in Karabakh conflict. Neither party to the conflict was able to down a single air target with the SA-10 Grumble, proved useless in a real war. The Armenian army also lost several units of SA-6 “Gainful“ and SA-8 Gecko ADS.
A similar pattern can be seen in Syria, where Russia has built a layered air defense. Two SA-22 “Greyhound” Russia’s newest missile defense systems were destroyed, and that was an immediate resounding flop for Russia in Syria. Turkey’s airpower was just as successful in destroying the SA-22 “Greyhound” in Libya.
For a month and a half of military conflict in Karabakh, Armenia lost several SA-10 Grumble radars, mobile command posts and mobile launchers, destroyed by Turkey-made Azerbaijani UAVs. Thus, the SA-10 Grumble by Russia not just failed to provide cover for the ground forces of Armenia, but also to protect themselves from air strikes.
SA-22 “Greyhound” air defense units were destroyed in Syria (along with the crews) by Israeli airpower just the same day Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Russian SAMs in Syria ensured reliable protection against the airstrikes by Israel, the Al Alam outlet claims.
Considering the SA-10 Grumble and SA-22 “Greyhound” are advanced air defense systems by Russia, their destruction and missing enemy aircraft speak for Russia’s huge technological backwardness and the extremely high level of corruption in Russia’s defense, allowing to produce and introduce such backward systems.
Frontier stealth fighter-bombers by NATO countries will undermine Russia’s air defense, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claims. He says Russia’s military strategy against the West, with A2 / AD zones built by Russian air defense systems, calls Moscow’s optimism in question.
US Air Force Lieutenant General David Deptul, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Power Studies has similar views.
The S-300 and S-400 by Russia might prove useless even countering the F15 and F16 fighters in the mid-run. The reason for that is own laser missile defense system these fighters feature, making them for shooting down the inbound SAMs. Even when the missile is launched by the SA-21 Growler, it will be simply shot down not having hit its target. The US Air Force is about to install laser weapons on fighters by the mid-2020s. This weapon emerged at the U.S. over boosterism by Russia, threatening the West with nonexistent hypersonic SAMs. NATO has had Russia’s air facilities in the occupied Crimea under its thumb since 2018, obtaining data on any take-offs, including low-altitude ones. The Russians have no effective instruments to neutralize such surveillance, however, as sophisticated technologies make for the West to target anti-aircraft missiles at planes that are taking off, thus posing threats to Russia’s vital interests.
