The information had already filtered a few months ago: the Pantsir S1 and S2 short-range anti-aircraft defense system, identified by the NATO code SA-22 GreyHound, and used by the Russian and Syrian forces to protect air bases and sensitive installations, seem not to have given satisfaction in the Syrian theater. According to the leaks at the time, the system's radar was having great difficulty in detecting small targets, and was very often parasitized by various elements, such as flocks of birds.
This information seems to be taking shape now. Thus, according to an anonymous source from the Russian Defense Ministry, quoted by the Defense-Blog, would confirm that Russian forces would seek to replace their Pantsir, by a new version of the short-range defense system, and would offer the current systems on the second-hand market at very aggressive prices.
At the same time, the TASS agency published an article about a new version of the system, the Pantsir S1M, which would very soon be offered on the export market, and which would have significantly increased performance compared to the Pantsir S1. The new system would, among other things, be capable of using a new version of the 57E6 missile (57E6M?) which would extend the engagement range to 30 km, compared to 20 km today, while retaining the 57E6 for engagements over short range, and the 30 mm 2A42M cannons for very short range defense. While continuing to deny the poor performance of the system, the TASS article concludes that the Pantsir SM, the version intended for the Russian forces of the new system, was currently completing its state tests, in order to be able to be ordered by the armies national.
It is therefore likely that the Russian system did indeed encounter significant difficulties during its deployment in Syria, and that, as was the case with the Uran-9 land drone or the Mi-28 helicopter, the Russian general staff used Syrian feedback to design a more effective and more advanced version of the system. The export prospects of the system explain, for their part, why the Russian media showed so much verve in trying to present the Pantsir as very effective, even if this was not the case.