A lot of the countries will be probably upgrading their air defences in the coming years. What mix & match we'll mostly see, in the countries that can afford the effort? Defenses against the 'usual suspects', like the manned aircraft, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, as well as against UAVs of all price ranges.
My take:
- big missiles (1000-2000 kg, like the missiles the Patriot, S-300/-400/-500 can use; yes, these also fire smaller 400-500 kg types) for long-range work and for anti-ballistic-missile protection
- 100-200 kg missiles (I prefer the Iron Dome; the souped-up AMRAAM should also work), for ABM, anti-UAV and anti-cruise-missile work; also includes the big tactical missiles like the Smerch or ATACMS, and air-launched missiles & smart bombs; guidance might include both IR and ARH, granted not on the same missile
- MANPADS (whether the fire-and-forget, or the man-in-the-loop models), probably with 'smart helmet' system so these can be cued quickly even against the cruise missiles and UAVs
- a good self-propelled cannon, 35-57mm, for killing the big shells, anti-radiation and other missiles the rocket systems missed and are in range, also against UAVs
Obviously, all of those must still work well against the manned aircraft. Introduction of self-guided rockets enables distribution of launchers, and should provide redundancy in case some of radars are destroyed.
My take:
- big missiles (1000-2000 kg, like the missiles the Patriot, S-300/-400/-500 can use; yes, these also fire smaller 400-500 kg types) for long-range work and for anti-ballistic-missile protection
- 100-200 kg missiles (I prefer the Iron Dome; the souped-up AMRAAM should also work), for ABM, anti-UAV and anti-cruise-missile work; also includes the big tactical missiles like the Smerch or ATACMS, and air-launched missiles & smart bombs; guidance might include both IR and ARH, granted not on the same missile
- MANPADS (whether the fire-and-forget, or the man-in-the-loop models), probably with 'smart helmet' system so these can be cued quickly even against the cruise missiles and UAVs
- a good self-propelled cannon, 35-57mm, for killing the big shells, anti-radiation and other missiles the rocket systems missed and are in range, also against UAVs
Obviously, all of those must still work well against the manned aircraft. Introduction of self-guided rockets enables distribution of launchers, and should provide redundancy in case some of radars are destroyed.
