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57E6M-E Gvozd / "Nail"

Russia has developed a small missile capable of taking out drones. This missile called the “Gvozd” limits the effectiveness of a drone swarm or small armed UAV’s. The issue of how to combat small drones which can carry out damaging attacks has vexed global militaries. The United States and its allies has not yet found a way to counter small drones that does not require expensive missiles or large amounts of ammunition.

One way to increase the ammunition of the air defense system, is to place several shorter-range missiles in one container. Considering that the Pantsir-C1 / C2 / SM air defense system is a short-range complex, but in the latest modification it will be closer in characteristics to medium-range complexes, the appearance of such missiles on it is more than justified.

For the Pantsir-SM complex (and possibly for the Pantsir-C1 / C2 complexes), a small-sized highly maneuverable missile system is developed, which received the informal name "Nail". The engine is installed in her only at the accelerating stage, and after its separation, the rocket flies by inertia. The military long realized that using expensive “Shell” ammunition to destroy drones is too wasteful. The engine is installed in her only at the accelerating stage, and after its separation, the rocket flies by inertia. “Four small missiles can be loaded into a standard launch container.” It is also possible that one installation will be equipped with several types of missiles at once, ”the expert said. - The operator will be able to choose the type of ammunition depending on the combat mission. Thus, when armed with Gvozd missiles alone, the ammunition of the Pantsir-SM air defense system can amount to 96 SAMs.

In January 2018, Russia announced that it was fielding a new missile capable of taking out drones. The new missile system which equips Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapons system, is designed to deal with a range of small targets, with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) seen as the main priority. It is expected that it will become the main defense against high-precision aerial weaponry in future. This missile named Gvodz (Russian for ‘Nail’) is a relatively small armament designed to take out drones. It is appreciated that each Pantsir mount carries 4 gvozds in one canister, giving a total of 48 missiles with each system.

Showcased for the first time in the International Military-Technical Forum “Army-2017”, it has seen a rapid induction in to service, driven by the Russian experience in Syria. Russia would have been working on a anti-drone missile system for quite some time. While the drone swarm attack on the Russian Hmeimim airbase in Syria may have speeded up the induction of Gvodz system, it needs to be remembered that the system was first demonstrated in August 2017.

These small maneuverable missiles are capable of effectively hitting most small-sized targets - including improvised drones and multiple rocket launchers. For a fairly miniature size, the novelty has already received the nickname “nail” from the military. Four “nails” are installed in one full-time launching container of the “Shell”. In the future, the novelty will become the main tool for combating precision weapons.

American experts called the Russian air defense system an “ideal weapon” to repulse massive enemy attacks using UAVs. So, on 20 January 2018, The National Interest magazine published an article in Russia Just Might Have the Perfect Weapon to Crush 'Swarm' Attacks, which claims that such an effective short-range defense system like in Russia does not exist in the United States. At the same time, it was emphasized that the Russian military understood on time that ground-based air defense is more effective and cheaper.

As told the "Izvestia" in the Ministry of Defense, now a new anti-aircraft missile is being tested. She confidently hits a variety of educational goals. At the end of the test, the novelty will be included in the armament of the Pantsir-M and Pantsir-SM air defense systems. This will allow anti-aircraft gunners to intercept all high-speed small-sized targets with guarantee.

New missiles are a development of Tula JSC Design Bureau of Instrument Engineering. It was created in close contact with the Ministry of Defense, taking into account the experience of military operations in Syria. These small-sized missiles are designed to destroy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and, in the long term, to destroy warheads of high-precision weapons.

The missile is equipped with a detachable solid fuel ["powder"] accelerator in flight with a lightweight body made of composite materials. The engine is installed only on the accelerating stage, and after its separation the product flies by inertia. Four small-sized missiles are installed in the container of the standard rocket "Shell" caliber 170/90 mm.