U.S.-Ukrainian ATACMS Missile Strike Destroys Two S-400 Air Defence Launchers in Kursk: How Was it Achieved?

<p >The Ukrainian Armed Forces have been confirmed to have destroyed two launchers from an S-400 long range air defence system in the Russian Kursk region in an attack using <a href=" >ATACMS ballistic missiles</a>, with the strike launched on November 23, six days after Washington <a href=" target="_blank">provided the green light</a> for use of the missiles against internationally recognised Russian territory. Three ATACMS missiles were used in the strike. Ukrainian and <a href=" target="_blank">allied Western forces</a> launched an assault into Kursk in early August, taking them deeper into Russian territory than any adversary had been since the Second World War, with a <a href=" >failed simultaneous attack</a> on Russia’s Belgorod Region having also been launched. The large contingent in Kursk has since taken <a href=" >extreme losses</a>, with close to 20,000 casualties taken by the beginning of October, after limited air defences left forces exposed to intensive bombardment from the air and from multiple sides. The green light to use ATACMS and other Western supplied missile classes such as the British Storm Shadow against targets east of the Donbas a means of supporting the retreating and contracting forces in Kursk with much needed support, complicating counteroffensives for Russia. </p><p ><img src=" title="Ukrainian Army Challenger 2 Tank Milliseconds Before and After Destruction by Vikhr Missile in Kursk" ></p><p >Russian S-400 systems have proven capable of intercepting ATACMS missiles in the past with a high rate of success, with the systems designed to be able to intercept far more challenging targets including hypersonic missiles flying at speeds close to Mach 9. During the latest attack, however, the S-400 was in a non-combat state undergoing maintenance and repairs. Conflicting reports have indicated that alongside the missile launch vehicles, one of the system’s radar stations, a 92N6, was also destroyed, and that five officers from the S-400 division and three employees from the state run firm Almaz-Antey, which produces the systems, were also killed. S-400s provide multi-layered air defence, meaning even if attacks evade their long range surface to air missiles, they have medium and short ranged missiles capable of making further attempts at interception. The S-400 was also designed to be networked with complementary shorter ranged systems such as the S-350 and BuK-M3 to provide further layers of defence. It appears likely that Russian forces were caught by surprise by the missile strike, possibly due to unprecedented nature of the strikes into Kursk and because the location at which the S-400 system was being repaired was thought to have been concealed.</p><p ><img src=" title="Missile Batteries From S-400 System"></p><p >Although the S-400 system has lost two missile launchers, and possibly a radar, it will be able to continue to operate with remaining subsystems. Each battalion deploys eight launchers, meaning only one quarter of the battalion’s firepower was affected, while even with the possible loss of a 92N6 radar station the system can continue to operate using its other radars, and sharing radar data with other air defence systems in the vicinity. Russia relies very heavily on S-400s for the defence of its airspace, and has invested almost twice as much in acquiring the systems as it has in acquiring all classes of fighter aircraft combined since the disintegration of the USSR. Like many high end aerial warfare assets in the Russian arsenal, the S-400 saw its first ever combat use in the Russian-Ukrainian War, and has seen a number of its advanced features tested in the conflict. The system was first reported to have made use of its new <a href=" surface to air missile</a> in November 2023, which has a tremendous 400 kilometre range and uses targeting data from overhead aircraft to fire over the Earth’s curvature, allowing it to engage targets at very low altitudes. The S-400’s mobility, electronic warfare systems, extremely long engagement range, use of multiple complementary sensors, and demonstrated ability to intercept hypersonic missiles are among the major factors setting it apart from other long range air defence systems.</p><p ><img src=" title="Surface to Air Missile Launch From S-400 System"></p><p >Western Bloc states have deployed considerable assets to help Ukraine target S-400 and older S-300 long range air defence systems, with the U.S. Air Force confirmed in June to have <a href=" RQ-4A Global Hawk surveillance drone for flights over the Black Sea near Russian territory to survey the country’s air defence sites. American F-35 fighters deployed in Germany have also played an important role in <a href=" target="_blank">collecting signals intelligence</a> on Russian air defence assets. A<a href=" over 800 Western satellites, and <a href=" deployments</a> of personnel from Western Bloc states on the ground, play further key roles in facilitating effective attacks on high value targets by Ukrainian forces. Multiple European States <a href=" lobbied strongly </a>for unrestricted attacks very deep into Russia, and with U.S. resistance to meeting its more hardline allies’ demands finally having been worn down after the November presidential elections, it is expected that attacks from Ukraine using Western missiles, personnel, satellites and other surveillance assets will continue to escalate. </p><p ><img src=" title="American Forward Observations Group Personnel in Kursk"></p><p >Ukrainian Armed Forces<a href=" > launched the first</a> precision guided strike using Western-supplied missiles on targets on internationally recognised Russian territory on November 19, three days before the strike on the S-400s, attacking the city of Bryansk 280 kilometres southwest of Moscow. The Russian Defence Ministry reported that six missiles were launched, and claimed that five were shot down and one was damaged. Preceding Washington’s green light, attacks using ATACMS were limited to territory recognised by Ukraine’s Western backers as Ukrainian, namely the disputed Donbas regions, as well as the Crimean Peninsula. These included an ATACMS strike using cluster munitions on a Crimean beach in June, killing tourists, and multiple strikes on densely populated civilian targets in the Donbas. Strikes have also focused on high value military targets, a notable example being the NIP-16 Deep Space Communications site in Vitino on Crimea which was <a href=" >targeted in June</a>, and Belbek Air Base, also on Crimea, where MiG-31 interceptors were <a href=" >destroyed</a> in May 2024. </p><p >While Ukraine did strike targets on internationally recognised Russian territory before, it did so using drones and Soviet OTR-21 missiles. Drones have been used against targets ranging from <a href=" >apartment blocks </a>in the Moscow region, to Morosovsk Airfield in Russia’s Rostov region which was <a href=" >attacked</a> with over 70 drones on June 13, and before that a Voronezh-DM early warning radar system at the Armavir Radar Station in Russia's southwestern Krasnodar Krai. The ability to use ATACMS and a range of air launched cruise missiles for these attacks, however, will place significant further pressure on Russian defences.</p>