Russian Eastern military district receives Pantsir-S air defence systems

27 November 2012 airforce-technology.com

The Russian eastern military district's air defence units have taken delivery of a second batch of six Pantsir-S short-range air defence systems, Russian Air Force air defence troops head major general Viktor Gumenny has revealed.

The delivery follows comprehensive night-time flight testing of the missiles against real-time cruise missile targets at Ashuluk firing range in Astrakhan region, Russia.

Gumenny was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying that all air and air defence forces commands of Russian Military are scheduled to be equipped with the new system.

''The 2013 state defense order for such systems will be implemented in full,'' Gumenny added.

A total of 100 Pantsir-S units have been ordered to date by the Russian Defence Ministry to help enhance the safety of the S-400 Triumf air defence systems at their deployment sites from enemy air and missile strikes.

The first batch, comprising more than ten units, was received by Russia's Aerospace Defense Forces in 2011, while the remaining batches are scheduled for delivery in the next few years.

Manufactured by KBP Instrument Design Bureau, the Pantsir is a short-to-medium range ground-based air defence system designed to safeguard national and military facilities against a wide range of low-flying targets, such as cruise missiles, aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The anti-aircraft artillery system is an advanced variant of the SA-19/SA-N-11 missile, and features a fire-control radar, electro-optical (EO) sensors, two 2A38M 30mm twin-barrel cannons, and 12 57E6 two-stage radio-command guided short-range missiles in sealed, ready-to-launch containers.

Using the missile and cannon, the system is capable of engaging targets up to 20km and 4km respectively, and is also operational with Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and UAE militaries.