In the world of short-range anti-aircraft defense systems, known by the English acronym SHORAD, the Pantsir S1 is original, not by its design, but by its function. Indeed, the Russian system, whose name means carapace, was designed as an automatic close protection system, like the CIWS which now equip many combat vessels, such as the very famous American Phalanx.
Indeed, the primary function of the Pantsir is to intercept and destroy threats that have managed to pass through the anti-aircraft defensive curtain, this threat being an aircraft or a helicopter, but also a drone, a missile, a bomb. , a rocket or an artillery shell. This is the reason why, in Russian defensive systems, the Pantsir only intervenes as a last resort, when the S400/300, the BUK and the TOR M1/2 systems have not succeeded in neutralizing the threat. This is also why the Pantsir are generally positioned very close to targets of high tactical value, potentially targeted by the adversary's attacks.
Massively used in Syria, both by the Russian forces using Pantsir S2, and by the Syrian forces with nearly 70 Pantsir S1 systems, the system has proven effective against missiles and rocket attacks, but has shown failures in the face of drone attacks. In addition, its limited range (Pantsir S1 20 km) made it a favored target for attacks using stand-off systems, particularly for the Israeli air force.
This is the reason why the Russian authorities have, as they have done with numerous pieces of equipment, learned lessons from the Syrian engagements to design an improved version of the system, the Pantsir SM. The new Pantsir, which should enter service from 2021 in the Russian forces, has a new AESA surveillance radar increasing the detection capacity from 40 to 75 km at 360°, and is much more effective against targets stealthy and/or slow. The system also has a new interception missile, the 57E6M-E missile, with an engagement range of 40km, double that of the 57E6E which equips the Pantsir S1, limited to 18 km. The 12 missile launch tubes of the Pantsir SM offer a mix of these two missiles, the 57E6M having a minimum engagement range of 1200 m where the 57E6E can engage a target from 15m. These missiles, lacking a seeker, use CLOS (Command to line-of-sight) guidance comparable to that used by the French CROTALE NG system, which is very resistant to countermeasures. For guidance, the Pantsir has both information provided by the AESA tracking radar capable of tracking 20 targets and guiding 4 missiles simultaneously, and that coming from the thermal camera (limited to one target), the crew being able to favor a system depending on the target and the environment. As a last resort, the Pantsir SM has, like the S1/2 before it, two 30 mm 2A38M cannons powered by 700 shells of different types (explosive, fragmentation, shaped charge), the crew being able to select the most suitable ammunition to the target. Each cannon has a rate of fire of up to 2500 rounds per minute, a horizontal range of 4 km and vertical range of 3 km. Thus prepared, the Pantsir SM therefore offers a full coverage zone ranging from 15 meters to 40 km in line of sight, for a maximum altitude of 8 km.
The Pantsir SM can act in 4 modes:
– autonomous mode
– cooperative mode with a master system and slave systems
– centralized mode, receiving target assignments from a command post supplied with information by all or part of the Pantsir
– the centralized connected mode, the command post being in this case connected to a warning radar and merging the data with those provided by the Pantsir if necessary.
It remains to be seen whether the new Pantsir SM will meet the operational expectations of the Russian military.