How Good Are Russian Air Defenses — Really?

For decades, NATO and the West feared and respected the lethality of Soviet surface-to-air defenses.

But, knowing what we now know about the unprofessional state of the Russian military, are such fears grounded in reality?

Ukraine’s recent drone strikes deep into Russian territory suggest that Russian air defenses may not be as functional as the West once thought.

On May 1st, 1960, a U-2 spy plane flown by American pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down while performing photographic surveillance over Soviet airspace.

The U-2 has an operational ceiling of 70,000 feet or 21,300 meters. At that height, American military planners were certain that nothing the Soviets had could reach it.

But a few years earlier, in 1957, the Soviets had begun the development of the S-75 Desna, a surface-to-air missile system with an operational altitude of 82,000 feet.

The S-75 was so lethal in fact, that in addition to shooting down Powers’ U-2, the salvo also shot down one of the Soviet MiG-19 fighters pursuing Powers. The pilot, Sergei Safronov, was killed.

The S-75 was the most prolific air defense system in history.

Between 1958 and 1964, U.S. intelligence assets located more than 600 S-75 sites in Russia. These sites tended to cluster around population centers, industrial complexes, and government control centers.