9K331 Tor / SA-15 GAUNTLET - Foreign Sales
The HQ-17 is a copy of Tor-M1, that China used to replace the aging HQ-61 SAMs entered service around the year 2005. Russian air defense systems have always aroused and continue to arouse great interest of potential foreign customers. So, in 1997, 13 Tor-M1 systems were first delivered to China, and in 2000, 21 air defense systems were received by the NATO country - Greece. In 2006, Sergei Chemezov, at that time the head of the Rosoboronexport company, said that Russia had completely completed the supply of Tor-M1 air defense systems to Iran, the Islamic Republic received a total of 29 systems. Armenia received one of the four launchers of the Tor-M2KM air defense system. "Tor-M2K", delivered to the Republic of Belarus, covered the area of the Belarusian nuclear power plant during its construction.
In 2013, demonstration firing took place at the Kapustin Yar training ground near Astrakhan as part of a tender for foreign sales of the Tor-M2KM complex, which confirmed its characteristics. The press service of the Almaz-Antey Aerospace Defense Concern reported that the air defense system showed 100% efficiency, hitting all designated air targets with the consumption of one missile for each target.
In 2019, it became known that Russia received a number of applications from foreign customers for the supply of Tor-E2 air defense systems. Which specific countries were not reported. In February 2023, at the Aero India 2023 exhibition, the general director of Rosoboronexport, Alexander Mikheev, told TASS that Russia is conducting technical consultations with India on the production of Tor-M2KM air defense systems there. By the way, at this Indian exhibition there was great interest in the Tor-M2KM in modular design.
The Tor-E2, Tor-M2K and Tor-M2KM air defense systems were demonstrated in the Russian pavilion of the international arms exhibition IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi. Despite the foreign policy situation, the Almaz-Antey exposition was visited by more than 30 delegations from a dozen and a half countries, representatives of the Middle East showed the greatest interest. Potential foreign customers in the Middle East were attracted by the modular version of the Torah, as it is convenient to use it to protect oil rigs from air attack. For example, Russian air defense systems could reliably protect the oil refining facilities of the Saudi company Saudi Aramco, which were repeatedly attacked by kamikaze drones and Yemeni Houthi cruise missiles.
At the IDEX 2023 exhibition, an official representative of the Almaz-Antey VKO concern told TASS that the Tor-A air defense system (the export version of Tor-M2DT) can carry double the BC of anti-aircraft guided missiles - 16 on APU and 16 more - in stock. Export versions of the Tor-M1 air defense system had eight missiles, Tor-E2 — 16.
It was reported that the modification "Tor-E2" can be directly interfaced with both the higher - SAM "Buk-M3", and with the lower air defense systems - air defense systems and short-range anti-aircraft artillery systems and MANPADS - through a set of communications upgraded in 2020. Experts also note that the cost of Tor missiles is lower than that of other air defense systems.
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