For a long time, the domestic mass media have developed a kind of unpleasant tradition. First, there is a sensational negative news about the Russian armed forces - about the progress of rearmament, about the conditions of service, etc. Then it is reprinted by other publications, the news is widely disseminated and … And an official refutation comes, in which the situation is laid out on the shelves and it turns out that in the original scandalous message either the facts were misinterpreted or what was said had nothing to do with reality. Nevertheless, almost always official denials do not get as widespread as negative “sensations”.
Pantsir-C1 (center target tracking radar) - two double-barreled anti-aircraft guns and 12 surface-to-air missiles, ready to launch
The next act of this farce happened just the other day, and it was somewhat unusual. For some unknown reason, earlier "sensations" mainly appeared on Monday morning. It probably has something to do with the start of the work week and the ability to spread the news more effectively than on weekends. To the credit of the press service of the Ministry of Defense, most of the denials came in the same way on Monday. This time, for some reason, the time frame has shifted significantly. The rearmament failures were reported last Friday (September 14), and the denial came only this Tuesday (September 18).
On the 14th, in the afternoon on the website of the newspaper "Izvestia" there was a note with the loud title "The ground forces abandoned the" Shell "". In it, citing a source in the command of the Ground Forces, it was asserted that the Ministry of Defense did not intend to buy any more Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and cannon systems. As the reason for this, the characteristics of the complex were named, which supposedly do not meet the technical requirements of the military. It is easy to guess that the name or other "coordinates" of the source were not named. It is worth noting that almost always in the context of such "sensations" some anonymous sources in the Ministry of Defense, the military-industrial complex, etc. appear. And in the overwhelming majority of cases, the information received from anonymous users is not confirmed.
Nevertheless, the terrible reputation of anonymous sources did not prevent Izvestia from referring to another such character, this time allegedly related to the defense industry. According to another anonymous author, comparative tests of the Pantsir-S1 and Tor-M2 anti-aircraft systems have already been carried out, which ended far not in favor of the former. "Pantsir-C1" allegedly has the following disadvantages: the missile cannot hit maneuverable targets, the complex is not mobile enough and has problems with electronics. Finally, the "OPK representative" referred to the tactical uselessness of short-range air defense missile systems. He believes that in modern warfare, such equipment will be quickly destroyed by enemy aircraft using guided weapons of the appropriate range.
On Tuesday evening, the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense released official data regarding the news about the Pantsiri. As it turned out, there is no refusal to purchase and is not planned. ZRPK "Pantsir-S1" has been adopted, in the Aerospace Defense Forces ten copies are already in operation. In the near future - by the end of October - the troops of the East Kazakhstan region will receive a second batch of new anti-aircraft missile-gun systems. Currently, the main task of these complexes is to cover the positions of the S-400 air defense system from dangerous objects in the near zone. Deliveries to the Ground Forces have not yet begun due to the lack of a corresponding modification of the complex, which is still being developed.
Military air defense means have a number of characteristic features necessary for full-fledged protection of troops on the march and on the battlefield. Among them there is also good cross-country ability. According to the Deputy General Director of the Instrument Design Bureau (Tula), where the Pantsir-S1 was developed, Yu. Savenkov, currently the main claim of the Ground Forces is the chassis of the complex. The military doubts the qualities of the wheeled chassis and wants to get a tracked one. As soon as the design of the tracked version of "Pantsir-C1" is completed and a prototype is built, it will be possible to draw conclusions about its prospects. However, it is already clear that the complex will be supplied to the Ground Forces and, contrary to the assertions of an anonymous person from the defense industry, will not compete, but supplement Tor-M2.
We have sorted out the issues of adoption for service. Now it would not hurt to dwell on the statements of the "source" in the defense industry. Let's start in order. Allegedly, the 57E6E missile cannot hit maneuverable targets. The declared maximum overload with which the rocket can maneuver is ten units. From this it follows that it is capable of destroying all types of targets that the military air defense of the near zone should deal with. Complex mobility. It is unlikely that the KAMAZ-6560 wheeled chassis can be called bad. On the highway, the ZRPK at its base can move at a speed of up to 90 kilometers per hour. When driving over rough terrain, the maximum speed is significantly reduced, but remains at the level of most other military equipment. In general, as already mentioned, the only problem with the wheeled chassis is its lower cross-country ability compared to the tracked chassis.
Finally, a short firing range. The arguments of the "representative of the defense industry" regarding the radius of action of "Pantsir-C1" for a knowledgeable person look rather strange. Over the past several decades, the concept of layered air defense has been used in our country. Both the country's air defense and military anti-aircraft weapons are divided into several groups depending on the range and are used in accordance with it. For example, the military air defense includes both short-range and ultra-short-range complexes (2K12 "Cube" and 2K20 "Tunguska") with a firing range of no more than 15-30 kilometers, and long-range S-300V, which hit more than a hundred. Thus, the troops have the ability to create a continuous zone of destruction with a radius of several tens of kilometers and reliably cover the columns of equipment or important objects. Breaking through such defenses is a very difficult task - in fact, most of the air attack weapons will be hit before they reach their target at a sufficient distance. The Pantsir-C1 complexes in such a system are assigned the same role as the earlier Tunguska. The self-propelled anti-aircraft missile-gun system should be located in the convoy of equipment or next to the covered stationary object and provide, so to speak, the last level of protection. In addition, similar short-range systems are used to close the so-called. dead funnel of long-range anti-aircraft missile systems.
As you can see, all the theses expressed in the notorious publication have either been refuted in official sources, or are smashed to smithereens by other open information."Pantsiri-C1" continues to be supplied to the troops and improved. As for the sensational reports in the press, their reason is most likely a desire to raise their own rating, even at the cost of misinterpreting the facts or attracting some anonymous sources. To maintain a normal information environment in the country, it would not hurt to get rid of this unpleasant phenomenon. But that's a completely different story.
