Further Classification: Land Based versus Naval

You'll also see SHORAD and VSHORAD (Short Range Air Defense and Very Short Range Air Defense).

If the s-400 works, in what class will you put it. Remenbering it is supose to have 400km range, far more than the MEADS, THAAD and the Arrow . And they say it will have the capability to manouver out of the atmosfer.

Great point blacksmith!

Galderio - I would class the S-400 as a Theater/Intermediate Range SAM. Yes, it does have a longer range than some of the other systems in the same class, but not enough to be in the Intercontinental/Strategic SAM class. If it works as advertised it would be perhaps the best system in the Theater/Intermediate Range class of SAMs.

Yes! But do you know something about the Ground based interceptor anti-aircraft capabilities( maybe high altitude targets). If it can only handle ballistic missiles( and that is already too much)I think we can not compare it with Partiots and s-300. Just because it is not a complete air defense and you will need other systens as complement or to protect then.

We can call the GBI as surface-to-space missile, since it can not hit anything in the air and would let you vulnerable even to WWI biplane bombers.

Hmm, I suppose it could be called a surface to space missile... but not an ASAT as it does not have the capability to reach orbit (to the best of my knowledge). I did not distinguish between anti-ballistic and anti-aircraft missiles in the classification, but it could be another way of classifying them. Many new missiles, however, have both capabilities, albeit the ballistic ones tend to be limited.