The Russian state company Rostec has announced a new variant of its Pantsir short-range air defense system. Pantsir-SMD-E It can be loaded with up to 48 small interceptors and is designed to help Protect critical infrastructure from unmanned aerial threatsit said in a statement. Over the past few months of the war, Ukrainian forces have been launching drone attacks against military bases and industrial facilities. increasingly within Russia and this new variant comes to reinforce the defenses in its territory.
The Pantsir-SMD-E has been presented at the exhibition Army 2024which ends today, at Patriot Park in Kubinka, just outside Moscow. The SMD-E variant was displayed in a static, autonomous configuration, but can be integrated into various tactical trucks or other platforms, including boats, such as the previous types of Pantsir.
The new SMD-E variant of the Pantsir has a turret that can be loaded with up to 12 short-range surface-to-air missiles of the series 57E6until 48 very short range interceptors TKB-1055or a combination of both. The TKB-1055 is a relatively recent development focused on defeating drone threats and has a maximum range of just over 7 kilometers, while the 57E6-E reaches almost 20 kilometers.
🇷🇺 The Pantsir-SMD-E air defense missile system for the defense of stationary objects was brought to the Army-2024 forum. This is a new stage in the development of Pantsir, designed primarily to combat drones in the context of an ongoing special military operation.
The key… pic.twitter.com/10U8mKgX8M
— Rybar Force (@rybar_force) August 12, 2024
Like previous versions of the Pantsir, the SMD-E’s turret also has two integrated radarsone to detect and track targets and another to direct guided missiles. Where the new variant differs markedly from most previous versions of the system is in the absence of cannon armament.
Most ground variants of the Pantsir have turrets armed with two autocannons. 30mm 2A38Mas well as up to 12 missiles of the 57E6 series. The navalized Pantsir-M, developed for installation on ships, replaces the 2A38M with automatic cannons AO-18KD 30mm.
“The Pantsir family of systems is constantly being improved and expanded. The new Pantsir-SMD-E is designed to protect stationary objects from air attack weapons, including massive drone attacks“, he says Bekkhan Ozdoyevhead of the “arms cluster” of the Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec. “To combat these targets, the system can carry 48 short-range missiles. These are effective and inexpensive ammunition that reliably protect against small drones, and allow, figuratively speaking, Don’t shoot sparrows with a cannon“.
The Pantsir-SMD-E SAM system is designed to protect industrial and administrative facilities from massive UAV attacks. Ammunition can reach up to 48 short-range SAMs or up to 12 standard SAMs. https://t.co/2H2kAwsHIOhttps://t.co/YWtjRipRKbpic.twitter.com/MwZesf4G4D
— Massimo Frantarelli (@MrFrantarelli) August 12, 2024
Remove the guns and their feeding systems as well Reduces cost and manufacturing time of SMD-E compared to other versions of the system. This last aspect is important because of the repercussions of sanctions by the US and other Western countries on Russia’s defence industry.
Pantsir air defense systems have long been an important component of defenses to protect critical military, government and industrial facilities from Ukrainian drone attacks. Last year, The Pantsir were installed on the roofs of buildings in Moscow and near one of the official residences of President Vladimir Putin.just outside the capital. These are part of a wider network of air defences deployed in and around Moscow that also includes additional batteries of long-range surface-to-air missiles. S-400.