Pantsyr S1 Air Defense Missile / Gun System, Russia

Pantsyr S1 Air Defense Missile / Gun System, Russia (NSI News S0urce Info) September 18, 2008: Pantsyr-S1 (also known as Pantsir) is a close-in air defence system designed to defend ground installations against a variety of weapons including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, ballistic and cruise missiles, precision-guided munitions and unmanned air vehicles. It can also engage light-armoured ground targets. It was designed by the KBP Instrument Design Bureau of Tula, Russia, and is manufactured by the Ulyanovsk Mechanical Plant, Ulyanovsk, Russia. "Pantsyr-S1 (Pantsir) is a close-in air defence system designed to defend ground installations against a variety of weapons." The system is undergoing trials with the Russian Air Force, with first deliveries of production systems due in 2008. In May 2000, the United Arab Emirates ordered 50 Pantsyr-S1 systems, half to be mounted on tracked GM-352M1E vehicles from Minskiy Traktorniy Zavod of Belarus and half on wheeled chassis. The first batch of was delivered in November 2004. However a new radar was requested by the UAE and first deliveries of the completed system are planned for 2007. Final deliveries are scheduled for 2009. It has been reported that Syria has placed an order for 50 Pantsyr-S1 systems with deliveries to begin by the end of 2007. Jordan has also place an order for an undisclosed number of systems.

Firing of the two 30mm 2A72 guns

The Pantsyr-S1 air defence system.

ARMAMENT Pantsyr-S1 carries 12 57E6 surface-to-air missiles on launchers. The missile has a bicalibre body in tandem configuration, separable booster and sustainer with separation mechanism. The sustainer contains the warhead and contact and proximity fuses. The fragmentation rod warhead weighs 16kg. The missile weighs 65kg at launch and has a maximum speed of 1,100m/s. Range is from 1km to 12km. Two 2A72 30 mm guns are fitted with 750 rounds of a variety of ammunition - HE (High Explosive) fragmentation, fragmentation tracer, armour-piercing with tracer. Ammunition type can be selected by the crew depending on the nature of the target. Maximum rate of fire is 700 rounds per minute. Range is up to 4km. FIRE CONTROL The Pantsyr-S1 fire control system includes a target acquisition radar and dual waveband tracking radar, which operates in the mm and cm waveband. Detection range is 30km and tracking range is 24km for a 2cm² - 3cm² target. This radar tracks both targets and the surface-to-air missile while in flight. As well as radar, the fire control system also has an electro-optic channel with long-wave thermal imager and infrared direction finder, including digital signal processing and automatic target tracking. A simplified, lower-cost version of Pantsyr-S1 is also being developed for export, with only the electro-optic fire control system fitted. "The radar tracks both targets and the surface-to-air missile while in flight." The two independent guidance channels - radar and electro-optic - allow two targets to be engaged simultaneously. Maximum engagement rate is 12 targets a minute. The Pantsyr-S1E systems for the UAE will be fitted with a new MRLS fire control radar. MRLS is a phased array radar operating at 40 GHz (K-band), with a range of up to 28km. VEHICLE Pantsyr-S1 is mounted on a 10t Ural-5323 truck chassis with a turret that houses the armament, laying drives, sensors, control equipment and crew. The Ural-5323 truck is four-axle, 8 x 8 all-wheel drive with single tyre wheels. The first and second axle wheels are steerable. The engine is an air-cooled diesel Ural-745.10 providing 290hp. The dual-plate mechanical clutch has a pneumatic booster and three-range five-speed gearbox. A two-stage transfer case has lockable symmetrical interaxle differential. Suspension is by rigid-axle bogie on longitudinal semi-elliptical leaf springs. Front suspension is fitted with hydraulic shock absorbers. The Ural-5323 can ford up to 1.75m of water. A shelter-based version of the Pantsyr-S1 is also being developed.