Current information shows that Russia is likely to have 16-18 battalions, equivalent to 56 S-400 complexes, deployed as early as 2020, according to Newsweek.
The S-400 was added to the Russian military's payroll in 2007, replacing the old S-300 systems. According to Russian state news agency TASS, by the end of 2015, Russia had 11 missile regroupes equipped with S-400s and plans to increase to 16 regroupes by the end of 2016.
A 2018 analysis by the international journal The Diplomat shows that Russia has long-term plans to build 56 S-400 battalions by 2020.
The state newspaper Pravda said that a regular S-400 battalion includes 8 launch vehicles with 32 missiles and costs about 200 million USD.
Each launcher can carry different types of missiles with a range of 40-400 km and includes radar mounted on trucks, mobile command stations and many launch points.
Despite being a state-of-the-art Russian air defense system, the S-400 is considered vulnerable during its deployment in Ukraine.
British intelligence said that Ukraine is likely to have destroyed at least four Russian long-range S-400 systems by the end of October 2023, including three in the Lugansk region.
In addition to the confirmed losses, there are reports of additions to the S-400 systems destroyed or damaged by Ukraine.
In September 2023, Ukraine announced an attack on two S-400 systems in Crimea with anti-ship missiles for Neptune. An S-400 complex in Russia was also damaged by a drone attack.
Newsweek has compiled statistics on known or confirmed losses related to Russia's S-400 including:
Ukraine announced it had destroyed two S-400 fleets in Crimea in September 2022. Russia has five S-400s deployed there.
In April 2023, Ukraine announced that it had destroyed or seriously damaged four S-400 launchers in Crimea.
In October 2023, Ukraine launched an ATACMS missile to destroy the S-400 system in Lugansk province.
In November 2023, a British intelligence update said Ukraine was capable of destroying at least four Russian S-400 systems in a week.
On April 19, 2024, Ukraine launched an ATACMS missile at a Russian airport in Crimea, destroying the S-400 launch pads, 3 radars and the Fundament-M aerial surveillance system.
On April 23, 2024, Ukraine destroyed radar 92N2 and radar 96L6 of the S-400 system.
On April 28, 2024, Ukraine launched many ATACMS missiles into Crimea, destroying many more S-400 air defense systems.
On May 6, 2024, Ukrainian forces destroyed Russia's S-400 missile launch site in the Zaporizhzhia region.
On May 22, 2024, the General Staff of Ukraine reported that it had hit another Russian S-400 air defense system but did not specify the details.
Newsweek noted that Ukrainian information shows that dozens of Russian S-400 missiles were damaged during the conflict.
These losses are seen as a significant step back for Russia's top air defense system.
Military experts point out that the destruction of these systems creates loopholes in the integrated air defense network of Russia and Ukraine that could take advantage of this opportunity.
In addition, although the S-400 initially operated well on the ground in Ukraine, the weaknesses of this weapons system that have recently been revealed have brought potential lessons to the Western army about how to counter the S-400.
The S-400 has been exported by Russia to a number of countries, including China and Turkey.
