Russia’s fearsome new S-500 air and-missile-defense system has apparently entered production—and is setting new records for-missile-engagement range. What is definitively known about the S-500 is that it is of very high priority to Russian president Vladimir Putin and that it presented publicly as primarily a high-altitude defense system. "It is necessary to develop and build up technological groundwork in the area of air defense, to continue modernization of Pantsir systems, to finish the development and preparations for mass production of the S-500 newest systems capable of hitting targets at super-high altitudes, including near-the-earth space," Putin said in May.

There are some reports that the S-500 can engage stealth aircraft including the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter or any other low observable platform for that matter. The Russians claim that the system can engage over the horizon and can be plugged into an air defense network—to include satellites.