Russia’s new air defense system drives straight into row of mines

A video circulating on social media yesterday shows the new Russian S-350 Vityaz surface-to-air missile system straight into a row of mines and exploding on the temporarily occupied territory of the Luhansk region in Ukraine.

According to the Militarnyi news agency, the S-350 system fell victim to its mishap as it navigated an unmarked minefield set up by Russian troops to deter a potential Ukrainian assault.

The incident caused severe damage to the mobile launcher chassis of the 50P6 surface-to-air missile system component of the S-350. The Russians stumbled upon the minefield while moving during the nighttime.

It is also noted that the damaged launcher remains in place due to concerns over evacuating it amidst the numerous anti-tank mines surrounding the area.

The S-350, which reportedly commenced serial production in March 2019 and entered service in February 2020, is designed to engage aircraft, drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missile targets.

The S-350 includes the 50K6 command post, multifunctional radars 50N6, and launcher units 50P6 with 12 9M96 missiles each.

Deployment time is five minutes, with a crew of three members.