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.

"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.