An S-400 "Triumf" antiaircraft missile system. © Kirill Kallinikov / Sputnik
CNBC: Russia is luring international arms buyers with a missile system that costs much less than models made by American companies
* Russia’s S-400, a mobile long-range surface-to-air missile system, costs approximately $500 million, whereas a Patriot Pac-2 battery costs $1 billion and a THAAD battery rings in at about $3 billion, according to people with first-hand knowledge of a U.S. intelligence assessment.
* Lockheed Martin makes the THAAD, or terminal high altitude area defense, system, while Raytheon makes the Patriot system.
* Nearly 13 countries have expressed interest in buying Russia’s S-400, a move that could trigger potential U.S. sanctions
WASHINGTON — The Russian S-400 missile system costs a fraction of rival platforms made by U.S. companies, one of the major reasons several countries are interested in dealing with the Kremlin despite the potential for blowback.
Russia’s S-400, a mobile long-range surface-to-air missile system, costs approximately $500 million, whereas a Patriot Pac-2 battery costs $1 billion and a THAAD battery rings in at about $3 billion, according to people with first-hand knowledge of a U.S. intelligence assessment.
Lockheed Martin makes the THAAD, or terminal high altitude area defense, system, while Raytheon makes the Patriot system.
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Update: Russia Lures International Arms Buyers With Half-Priced, More Effective Missile System (Zero Hedge)
WNU Editor: Even with the threat of U.S. sanctions, there are still 13 major countries that want to buy the system. It looks like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon may need to re-examine their product and its costs.
5 comments:
Personally, I wouldn't buy from anyone under the threat of U.S sanctions. And the S-400 system is a very good reliable missile system, if not, better than the THAAD and Patriot system.
Different roles for different AA.
The S-400 is a system intended to mainly take out strategic aircraft threats at long range. It is optimized for that.
The Patriot is a system that was built to take out tactical air threats and later re-prioritized to be an anti-SRBM system.
The THAAD is a purebred anti-missile system with capabilities to take down aircraft.
Is the S-400 cheaper? yes. Is it better? Depends on the role. Should Lockheed Martin and Raytheon reduce their prices? Probably, but good luck convincing them of that.
Anon 7:19,
I won't dispute what you say.
But you should see the prices they charge on electrical components that are basically like nuts and bolts hardware (but for electronics).
If that is your building blocks, how do you get cheaper?
Easy. You ignore the IP of manufacturers and buy copies at fraction of cost. Main competitive advantage of China and Russia is that they don't give a f*ck about trade law and their national interest companies (defence etc) are well shielded from any repercussions. We play by rules. We pay more.
Proven in combat against homemade drones, anyone who buys it will probably learn the hard way.
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