Pantsyr-SM Anti-Aircraft Gun-Missile System
The latest “Shell-SM”, thanks to the multifunctional aiming radar with a phased array, is now capable of detecting air targets at ranges up to 75 kilometers, and to hit up to 40 km, which is twice as much as that of its predecessor, “Shell-C1”. Also, the latest ZRPK, for the effective fight against enemy drones, was equipped with light missiles that are used against drones at ranges and altitudes of up to 20 and 15 kilometers, respectively. Thus, the "Shell-SM" will already be an anti-aircraft missile system of another class - medium range, and not short.
The destruction of mini-drones, for example, civilian quadrocopters used for military purposes, is difficult for standard air defense systems for two reasons. On the one hand, small drones flying at low speed are difficult to detect and track, and on the other hand, defeating them with conventional missiles designed for purposes such as an airplane or a cruise missile is not practical from the point of view of the cost of ammunition. In the new "Shell" both of these problems must be resolved.
In a TASS interview in January 2020, Valery Slugin, chief designer of the Shell, told TASS that the development, production and testing of new small-sized missiles for the Shell would take more than three to four years. He added that research is currently underway on this topic. The designer specified that with the help of a mini-rocket two tasks will be solved: increasing the ammunition load of one complex when firing at small-sized targets and reducing the cost of their destruction.
The ammunition of the new "Shell" can be increased by installing cartridges in each of the standard launchers of the complex from 12 to 48 missiles. Small-sized missiles will be able to hit mini-drones at a distance of 5-7 km, while the usual "large" armor shells hit at a distance of 30 km.
Also at the disposal of the crew were quick-firing paired 30-mm anti-aircraft guns that hit various flying objects at a distance of 4000 m. Airborne artillery can also be used on ground targets, including those with armor, such as infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and armored personnel carriers.
The K-53958 Tornado (8 × 8), on which the elements of the complex are mounted has a 450 hp diesel engine. It has a curb weight of up to 21,000 kg, has a carrying capacity of 22,000 kg. There is an automatic transmission. The maximum speed on the highway is 90 km / h. The depth of overcoming ford without preparation is 1.5 m, with short-term preparation - 1.8 m. The width of the overcome ditch is -1.4 m. The triple cabin is reinforced with armor, which holds a 7.62 mm B-32 bullet of the SVD sniper rifle. An all-terrain vehicle will protect the crew in the event of a two-kilogram landmine being blown up under a wheel or a cabin.
Due to the deletion of cannon armament, the ammunition missile system in the Pantsir-SM SAM system can be upgraded to 24 units. Presumably, the Pantsir-SM SAM / ZRPK will receive a radar with an active phased array antenna (AFAR), but it is still unclear whether AFAR will be used only in the preliminary detection radar, or in the guide-tracking radar. In the second case, the capabilities of the complex for the simultaneous bombardment of several targets should increase substantially. In this and in another case, while maintaining the current configuration of the complex, there is still the problem of limited vision of the guide and the tracking radar. The target detection range should increase from 36 to 75 km.
The range of defeat should increase from 20 km in Pantsir-S to 40 km in Pantsir-SM, the maximum speed of the missile defense will be 1700-2300 m / s, h (5-7?). Additionally, Pantsir-SM will be able to hit targets that move along a ballistic trajectory.
Another way to increase the ammunition of the air defense missile system, as mentioned above, is to place several short-range missiles in one container. Considering that the Pantsir-?1 / ?2 / ?? air defense system is a short-range complex, but in the last modification it will have characteristics closer to medium-range complexes, the appearance of such missiles is more than justified.
Small-size, high-maneuverability missiles are being developed for the Pantsir-SM complex (and possibly for the Pantsir-?1 / ?2 complexes), which received the unofficial name "Nail." This rocket is designed to destroy unmanned aerial vehicles, mortars, guided and unguided munitions. The compact dimensions allow you to place this missile in the quantity of four units in a TPK. Therefore, when armed with the Gvozdi missiles alone, the Pantsir-SM air defense missile system can be up to 96 missiles.
The existing Pantsir-?1 / ?2 complex rockets are manufactured according to a bicalyber scheme, the upper stage motor is located in a detachable first stage. After the completion of the dispersion and the separation of the first stage, the second stage of combat flies by inertia. On the one hand, it reduces the speed and maneuverability characteristics of the rocket by increasing altitude and range, on the other hand, the enemy may have trouble detecting the second stage of the anti-aircraft missile system of the Armor rocket warning system. S1 / C2 which operates on the principle of infrared detection. (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) radiation from a rocket engine.
It is unclear if the Pantsir-SM missile scheme will change, it is possible that to obtain a greater range of fire up to 40 km, the second stage is also equipped with an engine. If not, then the advantage of a surprise attack can be preserved for Pantsir-SM. At least, depending on the appearance of Zur's small "Nail", it can be assumed that there is no motor in the second stage.
The estimated appearance of the Pantsir-SM air defense missile system / air defense missile system probably speaks to one more feature of this complex. In the images there is a rocket version with surveillance radar and a missile version with increased ammunition without surveillance radar.
The cost of the reconnaissance radar, especially if done on the AFAR basis, must be a significant amount, which is a significant part of the cost of the air defense missile system. Consequently, developers can deploy several variants of the complex, with and without surveillance radar, and this is most likely possible for both the air defense system and the ZRPK. In this case, short-range complexes must operate in a group such as long- and medium-range air defense systems.
For example, in a group of four Pantsir-SM vehicles, only one is equipped with a surveillance radar. AFAR's radar capabilities will allow it to track many more targets than can be processed by one of the air defense systems, especially given the remaining restrictions in the radar guidance sector. In this case, the air defense system with a surveillance radar gives the target designation to other vehicles that track and hit targets. Also, Pantsir-SM SAM / ZRPK without surveillance radars can search for targets with their own Optical Location Station (OLS).
A group of four cars will be able to repel an attack of airstrikes simultaneously from all directions, or concentrate fire on the most threatened site. Four Pantsir-SM SAM with missile weapons can only carry a total of 48 missiles with a firing range of 40 km and 192 missiles with an estimated 10-15 missile. The combination of 240 surface-to-air missiles and a large number of attack channels will allow the four Pantsir-SM air defense systems to repel the enemy's massive fire attack, for example, a link of four F-15E bombers with UAB GBU-28B in each of the eight aircraft systems.
It can be concluded that the adoption of the medium range Vityaz C-350 air defense missile systems with the Panzir-SM 9?96 and 9?100 SAM systems was completed with the Panzir-SM SAM missile system. "Nail" will give a fundamentally new ability for Russian air defense to repel massive enemy air strikes.
