TULA, October 6. /TASS/. The upgraded Pantsir-SM combined surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system, equipped with a multifunctional targeting system, will be able to destroy targets 40 kilometers away - twice the range of the current configuration, the first deputy CEO, chief designer of the Instrument Design Bureau KBP, in Tula (an affiliate of Rostec), Alexander Khomyakov, told the media.
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"The newly-developed multi-functional targeting system incorporating an active phased array radar doubles Pantsir’s effective range," Khomyakov said.
He recalled that the range of fire of the current system Pantsir-S1 is about 20 kilometers, while the next generation, Pantsir-SM can hit targets 40 kilometers away.
The new Pantsir will be able to identify targets at a distance of 75 kilometers (in contrast to the current model’s 40-kilometer capability, Khomyakov said.
The components of a newly-developed air defense system are in the testing phase. Khomyakov said nothing about when they may be completed.
Last August the Russian Defense Ministry said that Pantsir-SM would go operational "very soon." According to earlier reports, the new system will be armed with a high-speed missile noticeably surpassing the current equivalents. There have been reports work is in progress on Pantsir’s naval and Arctic configurations.