MOSCOW, November 30. /TASS/. The upgraded Pantsyr-S1M surface-to-air missile/gun system is capable of fighting all types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including strike drones, Industrial Director of the Armaments Cluster at the state tech corporation Rostec Bekkhan Ozdoyev told TASS on Tuesday.

"The upgrade has substantially boosted the Pantsyr’s capabilities for fighting all types of drones. In particular, the system is capable of effectively detecting and destroying all types of strike drones that are in operational service," he said.

Deputy CEO of the High Precision Weapons Company (part of Rostec) Sergei Mikhailov told TASS at the EDEX 2021 international arms show that the upgraded Pantsyr had the potential to become the basis for tactical air defenses.

"The Pantsyr-S1M can be used as the basis for building an effective modular air defense network capable of shielding any military units from small-size and strike drones, precision weapons and, of course, military aviation - aircraft and helicopters. The system fully complies with the present-day A2/AD [anti-access/area denial] principles [an air defense system used to prevent an enemy from penetrating into vital areas]," Mikhailov said.

The Pantsyr-S1M has received new hypersonic surface-to-air missiles that has boosted its striking range from 20 km to 30 km, its operational altitude from 15 km to 18 km and its destruction area threefold. Along with new missiles, the system can also fire missiles of the Pantsyr-S1 launcher. The upgrade of the Pantsyr-S1M has also improved its stealth, jamming resistance and the rate of fire.

Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport signed the first contract on the delivery of Pantsyr-S1M anti-aircraft missile/gun systems at the Army 2021 international arms show on August 25.

Upgraded Pantsyr to lay basis for Russia’s multi-layered counter-drone system

The upgraded Pantsyr-S1M surface-to-air missile/gun system will be a major element of Russia’s multi-layered counter-drone system, Deputy CEO of the High Precision Weapons Company Sergei Mikhailov said at the EDEX international defense show running on November 29 - December 2 in Cairo.

"Countering drones is a major task for present-day air defense weapons. Currently, the Russian industry produces two types of counter-drone capabilities: ‘soft-kill’ to suppress drones by electronic countermeasures and ‘hard-kill’ to physically destroy UAVs. The network integrating both technologies was unveiled at the IDEX 2021 [international arms] show and the Pantsyr-S1M will be its major component, in particular, within a group of systems for physically eliminating drones," Mikhailov explained.

The Pantsyr-S1M is highly cost efficient in fighting modern drones, he said. "The munitions that are used make it possible to fully meet the cost/efficiency ratio in striking targets. We can confidently say that the Pantsyr-S1M is the world’s least expensive counter-drone system," he added.