MOSCOW. June 6 (Interfax-AVN) - The Patriot-3 anti-aircraft missile system being developed in the United States is inferior to the Russian-made S-300PMU1 system, let alone the new Triumph unit, Army General Anatoly Kornukov, former Russian Air Force commander and incumbent adviser to the director general of the Almaz research and production enterprise on military and technical policy, told Interfax-Military News Agency on Thursday.
Kornukov said that that fact has been proved by the results of the tests of the U.S. anti-missile defense system based on employment of Patriot-3 systems. The general said that only one missile launched from the Kwajalein Atoll fire ground engaged the target. The launch of the second missile failed, no reasons declared. It is known, however, that the Patriot-3 missiles were to engage a Minuteman missile launched from the Wake Island, some 1,125 kilometers off Kwajalein.
Kornukov said that the American experts engaged in developing the Patriot-3 surface-to-air missile, also referred to as the PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability) type system, face a lot of problems despite the fact that the system is considered to be the best of the air defense assets now being designed in the United States.
"Flight tests of the unit have been underway for more than five years. Unlike Russian-made air defense assets, the system can protect small areas only," the general said.
Kornukov also stressed that some USD250m dollars had been spent on development of the system in the past two years alone. More than USD500m has been allocated last year by the U.S. Senate for development of he THAAD system similar to the Russian Triumph unit.
The general added that the funds allocated for the purpose in Russia were by all standards out of comparison with what American experts are supplied with.
Another failure of the U.S. developers and producers of anti- aircraft and anti-missile assets will make mass production of the systems even more problematic, Kornukov said.
"The U.S. military intended to put the units into serial production as early as the end of last year. Now mass production of the unit has been put off for at least several years," Kornukov said.
As far as the THAAD system is concerned which in accordance with the Pentagon's plans is to make up the basis of the national missile system, the designers of the unit encountered even more problems. The development of the system will be completed in some five or seven years at best, the former Russian Air Force commander said.