New Delhi : Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to arrive in New Delhi on December 4, 2025, for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, which has placed Russia’s advanced S-500 Prometheus air defense system in focus for India.
Discussions are expected to cover potential deals for the S-500 alongside Su-57 fighters, building on India’s existing S-400 squadrons that proved pivotal in recent operations against Pakistani incursions.
It is designed to counter the toughest threats of the 21st century, which include advanced ballistic missiles, hypersonic glide vehicles, and hypersonic cruise missiles. But what truly sets it apart is its ability to strike low-orbit satellites and neutralise space-launched threats.
HOW S-500 CAN HIT SATELLITES IN SPACE?
The S-500 represents a leap beyond the S-400, with a 600 km range for ballistic targets and interception altitudes up to 200 km, reaching low Earth orbit (LEO) where many reconnaissance and communication satellites operate.
It deploys specialised 77N6-N and 77N6-N1 missiles for exo-atmospheric kinetic kills, launching from mobile BAZ trucks to strike fast-moving objects like hypersonic vehicles or LEO satellites at speeds up to 7 kilometres per second.
Gallium Nitride radars detect threats at 2,000 km, track up to 10 targets simultaneously, and respond in under 4 seconds, enabling mid-course or terminal-phase intercepts outside the atmosphere.
Intercepting LEO satellites works through high-altitude ascent: radars like the 91N6A(M) acquire orbital targets at 800-2,000 km, guiding missiles to collide via direct impact or proximity detonation, neutralising surveillance assets without nuclear warheads.
This counters space-based threats from adversaries deploying imaging or jamming satellites in orbits as low as 200-500 km.
For India, the S-500 offers a decisive strategic edge in space defense amid rising tensions with China and Pakistan. It would restore superiority over China’s S-400 copies and hypersonic arsenal along the LAC, while shielding assets from Pakistani drones and standoff weapons.
With newer threats emerging from both China and Pakistan, which have been on a warmongering spree under an increasingly belligerent army chief, Asim Munir, India has been considering the next layer of air defence shield.
Near-space denial protects India’s growing satellite constellation for navigation, intel, and missile guidance, integrating seamlessly with indigenous Akash and Project Kusha systems for layered coverage over critical regions.
The S-500 can transform regional air dominance into continental deterrence, deterring satellite-enabled strikes and enabling preemptive space control.
