Table of Contents

target it is engaging. The system is effective
to a minimum altitude of five meters and
maintains its effectiveness in the presence of
intensive jamming.
The RIF-M is an advanced, long-range naval
SAM system intended to provide area air
defense from aircraft, cruise missiles, and
ballistic missiles out to a maximum range
of 200 km (108 nm). The engagement of
targets is possible at a minimum altitude of 10
meters through approximately 27,000 meters
at speeds of up to 2,700 m/s. The system
can engage as many as six targets with up
to twelve missiles and can operate in the
presence of intensive jamming.
Lasers
Russia’s directed energy weapons program
utilizes radio frequencies in order to use
electromagnetic energy to damage or disrupt
electronics. The lasers use a high-intensity
light to disrupt sensors and thermally damage
structures. Low-energy devices are already
being completed for use in electro-optic
countermeasures. Russia’s long-term goal is
a high-energy weapon with anti-satellite and
cruise missile defense capability.
mirrors, lenses, and exotic laser materials like
diodes and non-linear optical crystals.
Rail Guns
Electro-dynamic gun systems are being
developed that use electrical energy for
2,000+ m/s muzzle velocity. The near- and
mid-term combustion-based technologies are
a transitional step to the creation of a railgun.
The major issue for Russia is maintaining
rail life through material science, transition
management, and rail geometry. Another
continuing issue remains pulse power. To
increase and maintain pulse power, Russia’s
new developments comprise of capacitor
inductors, rotating machines, and flux
compression generators. Non-traditional
designs of the system include reconnection
launchers and linear accelerators.
Russia maintains a mid-term high-energy
system of chemical and gas lasers and solidstate
lasers as medium-energy systems. The
development trends of radio-frequency
weapons are based on the observed effects
with little modeling or simulations. Different
waveforms are being utilized, including
ultra-wide band and complex waves. Their
capabilities are yet to be fully evaluated;
problems such as system life and targeting
are still key challenges. The other challenge
for Russia is weaponization. This involves
combining the beam into a solid state,
which is dependent on its quality as well as
atmospheric compensation. These systems
require a high quality of manufacturing using
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