Fastest air-defense systems by Mach number
41 of the 83 air-defense systems in the WeaponSpecs database publish a max speed figure, and the top 25 are listed here. Ranked on the published number alone, highest first, with no weighting and no composite score. The 42 air-defense systems with no published figure are not ranked, absent data is never treated as a low value.
| # | System | Max speed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HQ-19 † | 29 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 2 | S-500 Prometheus † | 16 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 3 | S-400 Triumf † | 14 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-01 |
| 4 | Arrow 2 | 9 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 5 | Arrow 3 | 9 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 6 | S-350 Vityaz † | 9 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 7 | L-SAM | 9 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 8 | S-300PMU2 Favorit † | 8.5 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 9 | THAAD | 8.24 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-01 |
| 10 | David's Sling | 7.5 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 11 | S-300V4 † | 7.5 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 12 | Sky Bow III | 7 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 13 | Freya | 5.9 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-30 |
| 14 | Patriot PAC-3 | 5 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-01 |
| 15 | Patriot GEM-T | 5 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 16 | Patriot PAC-2 | 5 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 17 | Cheongung II (KM-SAM Block II) | 5 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 18 | SAMP/T (Aster 30) | 4.5 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-01 |
| 19 | Buk-M3 † | 4.2 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 20 | HQ-9 † | 4.2 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 21 | NASAMS | 4 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-01 |
| 22 | SPYDER | 4 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 23 | Buk-M2 † | 3.5 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 24 | Pantsir-S1 † | 3 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-02 |
| 25 | IRIS-T SLM | 3 Mach | reference ↗ checked 2026-07-01 |
Compiled from public manufacturer, defense-ministry and reference sources. Published defense figures are approximations and are often stated under different conditions, so treat this ordering as directional rather than a tested result. A board is only generated where at least 5 systems in the class publish the figure. How we compile specs →
Other air-defense systems rankings
Max speed in other classes