The upgraded Pantsir-SM combined surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system, equipped with a multifunctional targeting system, will be able to destroy targets 40 kilometers away – twice the range of the current configuration, the first deputy CEO, chief designer of the Instrument Design Bureau KBP in Tula (an affiliate of Rostec) Alexander Khomyakov reported.
“The newly-developed multi-functional targeting system incorporating an active phased array radar doubles Pantsir’s effective range”, Khomyakov said.
The new Pantsir will be able to identify targets at a distance of 75 kilometers (in contrast to the current model’s 40-kilometer capability. The components of a newly-developed air defense system are in the testing phase. Khomyakov said nothing about when they might be completed.
Last August the Russian Defense Ministry said that Pantsir-SM would go operational “very soon.” According to earlier reports, the new system will be armed with a high-speed missile noticeably surpassing the current equivalents. There have been reports that work was in progress on Pantsir’s naval and Arctic configurations. (Russian Aviation/Business World Magazine)
