The image above depicts a former S-200 (SA-5 GAMMON) site near Novosibirsk in Russia. This site has a very unusual layout. It would appear that the S-200 site has been constructed on top of a former S-75 (SA-2 GUIDELINE) position. While various SAM systems have often taken over the locations of legacy systems in many nations where the legacy systems have been supplanted by newer weapons (a perfect example of this would be Russia's deployment of S-300P systems on former S-25 sites), this deployment is interesting insofar as it represents an unusual S-200 site layout. Most Soviet-era S-200 sites featured a minimum of two 6-rail launch areas, to a maximum of five in some locations. This is the only Russian-soil S-200 site to feature a single launch area, likely due to the fact that the launch positions were constructed within the boundaries of the former S-75 site.ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION
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SOURCES
-Overhead imagery provided courtesy of Google EarthAuthored by Sean O'Connor Visit geimint.blogspot.com for the article in its entirety.