Within the framework of the fifth international military-technical forum "Army-2019", the Russian and foreign public for the first time was shown a new domestic anti-aircraft missile-gun complex "Pantsir-SM", which is a modernized version of the "Pantsir-C1" complex. The development of a deeply modernized version of the Pantsir-C1 complex, which was tested by the Russian military in real combat conditions in Syria, will be fully completed in 2021. On June 19, 2019, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu told Russian journalists about this.
"Pantsir-SM" among the novelties of the forum "Army-2019"
Over the first two days of the fifth military-technical forum "Army", which is traditionally held in the Moscow region, more than 50 thousand representatives of enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex, government customers, scientists and experts have already taken part in it. Also, 120 delegations from other countries arrived at the forum. All of them were able to look both at the already known models and systems of weapons and military equipment, and at the novelties of the Russian defense industry, among which anti-aircraft missile systems always stand out.
Modern air defense systems S-350 “Vityaz” and “Pantsir-SM” became one of the main novelties demonstrated on the first two days of the Forum “Army-2019”, which opened its doors on June 25. According to the Minister of Defense, work on the creation of a new anti-aircraft missile system S-350 "Vityaz" with increased fire capabilities, which should replace the S-300 complexes, will be completed in 2019. At the same time, the new Pantsir-SM air defense systems will be able to provide short-range defense of military and civilian objects, as well as cover promising Russian long-range air defense systems, which include the S-500 Prometheus air defense system.
Pantsir-SM and its combat capabilities
The first Pantsir-SM complexes were produced back in 2017, at the same time the first photos of the new Russian air defense system appeared on the network, which immediately went viral. Special attention of experts was then attracted by the chassis for a new combat vehicle, which was chosen as an armored multipurpose vehicle K-53958 "Tornado". In April of this year, it was reported that the Russian Aerospace Forces conducted the first tests of the new version of the "Pantsir". Lieutenant-General Yuri Grekhov, who holds the post of deputy commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, told Russian journalists about this on the air of the Echo of Moscow radio station. According to the general, the tests of the new Pantsir-SM air defense system were carried out as part of combat exercises, while the new development of the Tula gunsmiths from the KBP (Instrument Design Bureau) proved its effectiveness even against ultra-small targets, which include modern unmanned aerial vehicles and small quadcopters … According to Yuri Grekhov, the complex proved to be highly effective, hitting all small air targets. This result deserves respect, since small modern UAVs are a very difficult target for air defense systems.
As reported by RIA Novosti, the new Russian air defense missile system will receive a modern updated radar based on a phased antenna array with an active emitter, Viktor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of the magazine Arsenal Otechestvo, told the agency's journalists. Compared to the previous version of "Pantsir-C1", the new complex will significantly increase its capabilities in target detection range, as well as their selection and noise immunity parameters. In addition, the developers from Tula promised to equip the complex with a new anti-aircraft missile, which has a higher flight speed and better tolerates overload.
Earlier in the press, information has already appeared that the new Russian ZRPK "Pantsir-SM" will receive a new anti-aircraft missile, which has twice the maximum flight speed than the standard "Pantsir-C1" ammunition of the 57E6E anti-aircraft guided missile - about 3000 m / s against 1300 m / s. At the same time, the maximum targeting range of the complex is increased to 40 kilometers, which brings it closer in combat capabilities to medium-range air defense missile systems, for example, to the Russian Buk air defense system. The detection radius of air targets will increase from 36 to 75 kilometers. At the stand, which was presented at the Army-2019 forum, it was noted that the complex is able to hit targets at a distance of up to 40 kilometers, at an altitude of up to 15 kilometers. In this case, the speed of the targets hit should not exceed 2000 m / s.
Perhaps the complex will be presented in two versions - fully rocket and cannon-rocket. In the first case, Pantsir-SM will receive 24 anti-aircraft missiles at once, in the second - 12 missiles. In addition, the developers are considering the possibility of creating small anti-aircraft guided missiles designed to destroy small air targets - drones and commercial quadcopters, which have recently been frequently used by terrorists, as well as mortar mines and MLRS shells. The use of small missiles will allow them to be installed in a package of 4 pieces in a launch cell. At the Army-2019 forum, a standard missile and cannon complex was presented - 12 missiles and two 30-mm rapid-firing automatic anti-aircraft guns. The 30-mm cannon of the complex can be used to combat various air targets at a distance of up to 4000 meters, as well as to fire at ground targets, including lightly armored enemy vehicles - armored personnel carriers, armored reconnaissance vehicles, infantry fighting vehicles.
Chariot for "Pantsir-SM"
The chassis of the KamAZ truck again became the chariot for the new "Pantsir", but this time a special multi-purpose chassis with an armored cab was chosen. The production of protected vehicles in Naberezhnye Chelny is carried out by the company Remdiesel JSC, which specializes in the creation and production of special-purpose vehicles. The protected chassis K-53958 from the Tornado family of 8x8 vehicles was chosen as the chassis for the Pantsir-SM.
The multipurpose chassis is designed for the installation and transportation of a variety of modern weapons and military equipment, as well as special equipment, towing trailers. The wheel configuration, tire size, ground clearance of 395 mm and the power of the diesel engine (441 kW or 600 hp) allow the cars of the Tornado family to perform effectively on all types of roads and terrain. The design of the car from Naberezhnye Chelny makes it easy to transport goods weighing up to 20 tons, developing a maximum speed of up to 100 km / h on the highway, while the cruising range is at least 1000 kilometers.
The chassis itself seriously expands the possibilities of using the Pantsir-SM air defense missile system on various types of terrain. The car can easily overcome a ford up to 1.5 meters deep without preliminary preparation or up to 1.8 meters with preparation. The angle of the climb to be overcome is, according to the assurances of the developers, at least 30 degrees, the height of the vertical wall to be overcome is 0.6 meters. Will not stop the new "Pantsir-SM" based on the multipurpose chassis K-53958 and a ditch less than 1.4 meters wide.
A distinctive feature of the K-53958 "Tornado" vehicles produced by the "Remdizel" company is also an independent suspension with hydropneumatic struts, which provides the car with high mobility characteristics and good carrying capacity, which reaches 25 tons for an unarmored version. At the same time, the gross weight of a four-axle vehicle can reach 42 tons. The presence of an independent suspension with hydropneumatic struts allows the car to forcibly and automatically change the characteristics of the ground clearance and suspension stiffness. This solution of the engineers from Naberezhnye Chelny provides the car with effective damping of vibrations from road irregularities and a high smoothness of the ride, which is very important for the chassis used to install various weapons systems.
The advantages of this platform also include a fully armored and protected cab of a cabover configuration, designed for three passengers. According to representatives of the Chelny enterprise, the booking is made in accordance with the GOST 6a class, that is, it provides all-round protection of the crew and equipment from 7, 62-mm cartridges with an armor-piercing incendiary bullet B-32 of the SVD sniper rifle (7, 62 B-32 GZh, GRAU index - 7-BZ-3). In addition, the manufacturer guarantees the protection of the crew from undermining under a wheel on a mine or land mine with a capacity of up to two kilograms in TNT equivalent.
