SAM system for Russian Arctic regions

MAKS 2017 is featuring the new Tor-M2DT surface-to-air (SAM) missile system developed by Izhevsk-based Kupol Electromechanical Plant, a subsidiary of Almaz-Antey Concern.

The system is an Arctic modification of the Tor-M2 baseline. Installed on an articulated cross-country tracked vehicle, it can travel off roads, including across snow- and ice-covered terrain. The system provides the crew with everything necessary for efficient operations beyond the Arctic Circle. The Tor-M2DT is intended for protecting Russia’s airspace in the extreme North.

The Tor-M2 baseline has been in service with Russia’s anti-aircraft troops since 2016. The system performs better than the preceding versions. In particular, it carries twice as many guided missiles. The missiles themselves are of a new generation, offering an expanded kill zone and higher accuracy of fire.

Both the Tor-M2 and the Tor-M2DT are members of the Tor SAM family. Primarily intended for anti-aircraft support of armor divisions and sensitive targets, and also as part of multilayer air defense systems, they can be used day and night against tactical warplanes, helicopters, UAVs, anti-radiation missiles, low-flying cruise missiles, guided bombs, and other existing and future aerial targets.

With a single rotation of the radar antenna, such a system can detect up to 48 targets at up to 32 km away, track 10 of these, class them depending on the threat level, and conduct fire on the four particularly dangerous targets simultaneously.

The Tor family are the first SAM systems in the world that can launch missiles on the move. In 2016 trials, missiles were successfully fired by a vehicle traveling at 45 km/h.

Kupol has diversified the Tor platform options to expand the scope of the system’s applications. In addition to the tracked chassis, the company developed the Tor-M2K wheeled variant, which is better suited for countries with developed hardtop road networks.

Kupol also created the Tor-M2KM autonomous combat module, which can be installed on the customer’s chassis, carried externally by a helicopter, or deployed in difficult-to-reach areas, such as building roofs and dominant heights in mountainous regions.

In September 2016, the Tor-M2KB was successfully tested against different aerial targets from on board a moving warship. This became an important milestone in Kupol’s ongoing work to create unified naval/overland short-range SAM systems.

By Tatyana Volodina