9K331 Tor / SA-15 GAUNTLET
SA-N-9 / HQ-17
The Tor-M1 is the successor to the Osa (NATO: SA-8 Gecko) surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. The 9K331 Tor [SA-15 GAUNTLET land-based, SA-N-9 naval version] low-to-medium altitude SAM system is capable of engaging not only aircraft and helicopters but also RPVs, precision-guided weapons and various types of guided missiles. The Tor system is a low- to medium-altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile system designed for intercepting aircraft, cruise missiles, precision-guided munitions, unmanned aerial vehicles and ballistic targets.
The Kupol factory produces the unique short-range Tor air defense systems. It was developed as a successor to the Osa (SA-8 Gecko). The Tor air defense system, which some experts say is named in honor of the Norse god of thunder and lightning Thor, is designed to destroy enemy weapons at short rangeas they fly towards their target at a radius of 15 kilometers (9.3 miles).
Work on the military tactical air defense system began in the mid-1970s after the adoption of the Osa short-range complex, which became the first domestic autonomous mobile anti-aircraft missile system, where reconnaissance and fire weapons were placed on one combat vehicle. The Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant (now IEMZ Kupol, part of the Almaz-Antey concern) was appointed the lead manufacturer. The complex was designed to respond to the new threats that appeared on the battlefield at that moment - anti-radar and low-flying cruise missiles, guided bombs and other modern means of air attack. To defeat such complex targets, a minimum reaction time of the complex to emerging threats was required, the presence of a powerful high-performance radar station (RLS).
The complex under the code designation "Tor", put into service in 1986, fully met all these requirements. The layout of the vehicle became revolutionary: for the first time in world practice, a vertical launch of anti-aircraft missiles was implemented, and for the first time, ammunition was stored inside a combat vehicle. Subsequently, in 2016, the Tor became the world's first air defense systems capable of firing on the move.
Surface-to-air missile systems Tor-M2E, Tor-M2K and Tor-M2KM are intended for day and night air defense of the important public and state, military and industrial facilities, military forces and vital military against attacks of high precision weapon, aircrafts, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles in an adverse weather and jamming environment. The main performance feature of SAM systems Tor is to attack up-to-date high precision weapon, such as anti-radar missiles (HARM and others), cruise missiles and guided aerial bombs. That particular weapon will present the most threat for the countries exposed to aerial attack.
Combat vehicles of these surface-to-air missile systems provide synchronous processing of 144 targets from aerial objects, build up the tracks of targets, analyze them and select 10 the most dangerous ones, track them and simultaneous destruct up to four air targets by four guided missiles launched from one combat vehicle. The surface-to-air guided missiles of the system are designed specially for effective interception of high precision weapon to provide essential advantage over foreign baseline designs.
SAM systems Tor-M2E, Tor-M2K and Tor-M2KM are easy to be integrated into modern air defense systems of any country, maintaining the capability to operate independently. As a member of new generation of short range air defense facilities, the systems feature high efficiency against modern air threats mass attacks in counter-fire and high-precision weapon in the first place.
Just like in the previous Osa complex, the Tor air defense system was an autonomous combat unit. The target acquisition radar, the phased array guidance radar with electronic beam control and the launcher were integrated into the antenna-launcher (APU). The engine compartment, hardware, ammunition and the place of work of the calculation had anti-fragmentation protection.
The innovative solutions applied during the creation of the complex determined its high modernization potential. During the operation of the Tor, three waves of its major improvements took place - in 1991 to the level of Tor-M1, in 2009 to Tor-M2U, in 2016 to Tor-M2. Each upgrade significantly (by a number of parameters - several times) improved the performance characteristics compared to its predecessors.
The principal advantages of Tor-M1 is its ability to simultaneously destroy two targets in any weather or at any time of day and night; the use of both the powerful and jamming-resistant radar with electronic beam control and vertically launched missiles able to maintain high speed and manoeuvrability inside an entire engagement envelope; the high degree of automation of combat operation provided by the electronic equipment suite. Tor detects targets at a distance of 25 kilometers and kills them at a distance of 12 kilometers. In combating manned aviation, Tor is 1.5 times more efficient than foreign systems of the same class - France's Crotale and Britain's Rapier, respectively.
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