As part of a new military assistance package, the government of Norway has announced the decision to finance the purchase of S-300 air defense systems to later transfer them to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, thereby reinforcing its already heavily strained ability to respond to Russian air attacks. As this is Soviet-origin weaponry with several decades of service, it is not entirely clear what the origin of the systems that Oslo seeks to acquire will be with the announced budget, which stands at around 500 million kroner, with one of the possible hypotheses being that Kyiv may be developing them locally.
Expanding on the details, it should be noted that this development would come hand in hand with what would be purchases of ammunition for the air defense systems already employed within the Ukrainian defense network, as well as rockets to equip the F-16 fighters that were transferred by Western allies to Kyiv; specifically referring to the APKWS II used in missions to shoot down enemy drones. In the view of the Norwegian government, all of these items are among those most frequently used by Ukrainian troops in combat, and therefore among the requests carrying the greatest degree of urgency.
As stated in the official communiqué issued by Oslo itself: “Air defense and protection of airspace have long been among Ukraine’s primary military needs and are important for the protection of military and civilian infrastructure, as well as the population, including the energy supply. Air defense is a priority area of Norwegian military support to Ukraine.” In another passage, it is highlighted that Norway has also provided funds to facilitate the acquisition of air defense systems through the so-called Ukraine Prioritized Requirements List (PURL), while it has also conducted training missions for Ukrainian personnel in the use of NASAMS systems.
Delving more specifically into what the arrival of new S-300 systems in Ukrainian hands would represent, it is useful to recall that these systems constituted the backbone of the country’s air defense at the time the war with Russia began in 2022, and therefore they are weapons with which Ukraine is already familiar and which are available to a greater extent than other models donated from the West. Primarily, Ukraine would have two variants of the system belonging to the P series, namely the S-300PT, which were acquired during the 1970s, and the S-300PS, introduced during the following decade along with improvements in mobility; to a lesser extent, there are also S-300V1 examples.
At present, analysts do not have concrete data regarding how many S-300 systems remain operational in Ukraine, especially considering that more than three years of hostilities have already elapsed and that many of them have been targets of Russian air attacks. Prior to the start of the war, available reports indicate that inventories were composed of a number in the vicinity of 250 units, with the quantities of missiles available to equip them being unknown.
Finally, addressing what was initially mentioned regarding the origin of the systems that would be acquired by Norway, it should be noted that the only confirmed current producer of the S-300 is Russia itself, while among NATO allies there exists a small group of nations that possess these systems. This is the case of Bulgaria with one S-300PMU system, as well as Greece with 12 S-300PMU-1 units; the condition of these assets is also currently unknown. The remaining alternative, based on recent statements by Ukrainian designers, is that the country may be willing to manufacture them locally with financial support from its allies, even incorporating changes that would allow the integration of radars and missiles originating from those countries.
*Images used for illustrative purposes.
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