The Russian armed forces carried out live firing tests of the Army's Pantsyr short-range gun-missile air defense system against...
The Russian armed forces carried out live firing tests of the Army's Pantsyr short-range gun-missile air defense system against cruise missile targets for the first time at a range in northern Russia, the Defense Ministry said.
"The Pantsyr will be tested in live attacks for the first time against real cruise missile targets on the range," a Defense Ministry source said.
Two missiles fired from a Pantsir-S short-range air defense system shot down a cruise missile during tests at a practice range in northern Russia on Friday, the Defense Ministry said.
A real cruise missile was launched from a Tu-95MS Bear strategic bomber targeting a building 800 kilometers (500 miles) away.
“The Pantsir-S hit the target with two missiles and prevented the destruction of the defended building,” the Ministry said in a statement.
“The live firing practice at the Pemboy range has confirmed high performance characteristics of the new air defense system,” the statement said.
The system has previously only been tested against practice targets imitating cruise missiles.
Cruise missiles represent a difficult target as theyare small, fast-moving, can fly at very low levels and often have a low infrared and radar signature.
The Pantsyr, produced by Russia's KBP, is a combined gun-missile system combining a wheeled vehicle mounting a fire-control radar and electro-opitical sensor, two 30-mm cannons and up to 12 57E6 radio-command guided short-range missiles, and is designed to take on a variety of targets flying at low-level, including cruise missiles and aircraft.
The Pantsyr can engage targets up to 12 miles (20 km) by missile and 2.5 miles (4 km) using the cannon, KBP claims.
The system was first made in 1994 and first shown at the MAKS airshow in Moscow in 1995. A modified variant was shown at MAKS 2007.
The Defense Ministry has so far ordered 100 Pantsir-S units for Russia’s Aerospace Defense Forces, which are expected to be delivered in the next few years.
The export version of the system, Pantsir-S1, has been sold to the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Algeria. Under a recent $4.2-bln arms contract with Iraq, Moscow will supply Baghdad with 50 Pansir-S1 systems.
