Ukraine crisis: US THAAD vs Russian S-400 missile defence system

According to Russia's news agency TASS, Ukraine has requested "several battalions" of THAAD anti-ballistic missile defense from the US. Ukraine reportedly wants the missiles to be deployed near Kharkov on Ukrainian territory.

Following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, NATO sent an "enhanced forward presence" of multinational battalions to Poland and the Baltics.

Amid the tensions over Ukraine, the Baltic states have called for an increased presence of other NATO troops as a deterrent against Russia. With tensions high in the region, Estonian soldiers could be seen hiding in a forest and preparing an ambush on tanks manoeuvring in a snowy plain nearby.

One of them carried on his shoulder a Javelin anti-tank missile, a weapon Estonia hopes would help hold back any Russian attack while waiting for the alliance to come to its defence.

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors are seen as they arrive at Seongju, South Korea

Russia's S-400 system missile defence system can perform multiple tasks as several countries have expressed their interest in buying due to its varied capabilities.

The S-400 can reportedly be assembled in 5 minutes through a mobile command vehicle making it a deadly force capable of being fired from any terrain.

It has the capability to track radars and airborne threats with a range of 400 kms.

In fact, the US wanted to sell the anti-ballistic missile defence system named Terminal High Altitude Area Defense(THAAD) to India, however, India's defence needs required the S-400 system.

Reports claim Russia has developed the Kinzhal missile system to likely target European infrastructure and to counter US's THAAD missile threat.

The Kinzhal can reportedly fly at Mach 4 speed (4,900 km/h) and can reach speeds of up to Mach 10 (12,350 km/hr). It is a missile which would be almost impossible to detect by European radars.

The missile had undergone trial in southern Russia in December 2017 as the country's defence ministry said "the hypersonic missile hit the preset target on the test site.”

According to reports, Russia has parked the  Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) systems near the Ukraine border amid escalating tensions.

Reports from Ukraine defence ministry said at least 36 Iskander launchers are now put along the border. Several reports indicated the Iskander ballistic missiles were being transported by train with photos on social media.

On Wednesday, the Russian defence ministry had released a video showing Iskander missile systems taking part in drills conducted in the western military district bordering Europe.

The scheduled exercises were aimed to check the troops' battle readiness, and will continue till January 29.

Russia has also started making combat readiness inspections in its southern military district which borders Ukraine, involving more than 6,000 troops.

The Kremlin earlier said it was watching with great concern after the United States put 8,500 troops on alert to be ready to deploy to Europe in case of an escalation in the Ukraine crisis as war clouds gather over Europe.

In 2018, Russia had deployed nuclear-capable missiles to Kaliningrad. The short-range Iskander missiles have a range 500 km and can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads.

Russia meanwhile recently launched a hypersonic missile, called Zircon, from a submarine and deployed a hypersonic, nuclear-capable ballistic system in 2019, called Avangard.

Moscow has in recent years touted the development of weapons that it hopes will give it the edge in any arms race with the United States at a time of growing tensions with the West.

Hypersonics can travel more than five times the speed of sound and manoeuvre in mid-flight, making them much harder to track and intercept than traditional projectiles.

In November, the Russian military had said that it had fired the Zircon missile from the Admiral Gorshkov warship and hit a test target in Russia's Arctic waters.

The Zircon had already undergone several tests in recent years, including another launch from the Admiral Gorshkov and from a submerged submarine.

As tensions mounted along the border in Ukraine last year, Russia launched the Orion combat drone. The attack drone fired an air-to-air munition at an unmanned vehicle during testing.

According to the Russian defence ministry the drone also fired at ground targets during the exercise at the Crimean training ground.

Reports said Russia has also reportedly developed a new aircraft-launched laser-guided missile. The Orion drone can take on other drones during combat.