Commissioned in the early 2010s, the Russian Pantsir-S1 medium-range anti-aircraft defense system quickly presented itself as a formidable adversary for any air force. Particularly complete, mobile and economical to purchase, the Pantsir-S1 could be purchased in large quantities and represent a small bubble of protection against any air carrier: plane, drone, missiles, helicopters. In any case, this is how its designer, the KBP design office, presented the Pantsir-S1 for a long time, heir to a long tradition of mobile air defense systems.
In recent months, however, operational realities have caught up with business rhetoric. Widely engaged in Syria and in the Libyan theater of operations, the Pantsir-S1 recently encountered a formidable adversary: the Turkish tactical drone Bayraktar TB2. In the space of just a few months, the Turkish air force is indeed claiming the destruction of 23 Pantsir systems : eight in Syria, and fifteen in Libya. If these figures are naturally disputed by the Russian authorities, numerous videos bear witness to the destruction or disqualification of at least a dozen Pantsir-S1 of at least two different types. This implies that at least some of them are indeed models delivered to the United Arab Emirates and used in support of the forces of Marshal Haftar in Libya, as we saw in a previous file.
The rest of this article is for subscribers only
Full-access articles are available in the “ Free Items“. Subscribers have access to the full Analyses, OSINT and Synthesis articles. Articles in the Archives (more than 2 years old) are reserved for Premium subscribers.
From €6,50 per month – No time commitment.
