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is a series of initially Soviet and later Russian long range surface-to-air missile systems produced by NPO Almaz, based on the initial S-300P version. The S-300 system was developed to defend against aircraft and cruise missiles for the Soviet Air Defence Forces. Subsequent variations were developed to intercept ballistic missiles.
The S-300 system was first deployed by the Soviet Union in 1979, designed for the air defence of large industrial and administrative facilities, military bases, and control of airspace against enemy strike aircraft. The system is fully automated, though manual observation and operation are also possible.[3][5] Components may be near the central command post, or as distant as 40 km. Each radar provides target designation for the central command post. The command post compares the data received from the targeting radars up to 80 km apart, filtering false targets, a difficult task at such great distances.[6] The central command post features both active and passive target detection modes.[7][8]
The project-managing developer of the S-300 is the Russian Almaz corporation (government owned, aka "KB-1") which is currently a part of "Almaz-Antei" Air Defence Concern. S-300 uses missiles developed by both MKB "Fakel" and NPO Novator design bureaus (separate government corporations, previously named "OKB-2" and "OKB-8").
The S-300 is regarded as one of the most potent anti-aircraft missile systems currently fielded.[9] An evolved version of the S-300 system is the S-400 (NATO reporting name SA-21 Growler), which entered limited service in 2004.