The Belarusian Defence Ministry has signed a brand new contract with Russia’s main producer of air defence tools Almaz-Antey for the upkeep and restore of Belarusian Armed Forces air defence tools at a brand new centre within the nation. The ministry reported relating to the settlement: “The air defence restore service centre, established this yr within the Republic of Belarus, will start servicing and repairing Minsk-owned air defence tools within the coming months in cooperation with Russian corporations. The corresponding doc has been not too long ago signed by authorised representatives of the Russian Almaz-Antey Air Defence Concern JSC and the Belarusian Ministry of Defence.” This displays a part of a broader development in the direction of the mixing of the 2 post-Soviet states’ defence sectors, as Russia has over the previous 5 years made important efforts to strengthen the defences of its neighbour and key strategic companion.
Following an increase in tensions between Belarus and states throughout NATO in late 2020, the nation emerged as a number one consumer for Russian air defence tools, and procured a number of battalions of S-400 lengthy vary air defence techniques. These have been supplemented by deployments of the Russian Aerospace Forces personal S-400 techniques within the nation, alongside Su-35S air superiority fighters and different excessive worth aerial warfare techniques. The Belarusian Air Drive reportedly acquired its first battalion’s value of S-400 techniques in 2022, and its second in Might 2023. Head of the Belarusian Air Drive and Air Defence Troops Main Basic Andrey Lukyanovich commented on the time that personnel working the battalion had undergone coaching and honed their expertise on the Kapustin Yar firing vary in Russia, and had been ready for fight missions as required. The Air Drive had beforehand relied on seven battalions’ value of Soviet-built S-300PS techniques medium vary techniques to kind the core of its air defence community.
Belarusian S-400 techniques have been deployed for joint workouts with Russian forces on a number of events, together with in Might 2022, and extra not too long ago in September 2025 as a part of the Zapad 2025 joint strategic drills. The asset’s capabilities towards stealth plane are significantly valued as NATO members proceed to broaden deployments of F-35 fighters to Jap Europe, with Poland set to area F-35s by the top of the last decade and seeking to purchase a nuclear strike functionality for these belongings as a part of a brand new nuclear sharing settlement with america. The S-400 was first fight examined in February 2022, and has been assessed by sources in each Russia and the West to have confirmed extremely efficient within the Ukrainain theatre. The system noticed its first fight within the service of an export consumer when it performed a central function within the Indian air marketing campaign towards Pakistan in Might, and was extensively credited by figures within the Indian political and navy management with having performed a central function in neutralising a number of excessive worth belongings.
Since getting into service in 2007, the S-400 has continued to be incrementally modernised, with a serious milestone in its enhancement being the mixing of the 40N6 lengthy vary surface-to-air missile round 2018. The missile can interact targets as much as 400 kilometres away, hanging targets over the earth’s curvature by utilizing focusing on knowledge both from ahead deployed floor primarily based radars, or from airborne radars, akin to these carried by A-50U airborne warning and management techniques. The missile’s two half trajectory first sees it ascend into house to altitudes of near 30,000 meters, earlier than descending utilizing this focusing on knowledge to strike plane at altitudes between 30,000 metres and 5 meters off the bottom. The missile has been efficiently fight examined towards each Ukrainian and Pakistani targets, and permits the Belarusian Air Drive to strike targets deep into NATO territory, together with throughout the airspace of the Baltic States, and deep inside Polish territory.
