Armenia displays Russian Iskander-E tactical ballistic missile at Independence day military parade 12609165

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Defence & Security News - Armenia
 
Armenia displays Russian Iskander-E tactical ballistic missile at Independence day military parade
Armenia has unveiled Iskander-E (E stands for Export-oriented, Eksportny) tactical ballistic missiles at the parade devoted to the Independence Day, September 21, 2016. According military sources, Armenia took last year the delivery of the Iskander-E.
     
Armenia has unveiled Iskander-E (E stands for Export-oriented, Eksportny) tactical ballistic missiles at the parade devoted to the Independence Day, September 21, 2016. According military sources, Armenia took last year the delivery of the Iskander-E. The Russian-made Iskander-E tactical ballistic missiles were displayed at the military parade of Armenia Independence Day, September 21, 2016.
     
The Vedomosti newspaper pointed out that the Iskander-E systems were supplied to Armenia. "Two managers of the Russian military industrial complex have confirmed the delivery of one Iskander-E battery to the Armenian Armed Forces. The systems were acquired through the medium of the agreements that regulate arms deliveries to the state members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO; Russian acronym: ODKB). Therefore, Russia`s Rosoboronexport arms exporting company was unrelated to the delivery," Vedomosti said.

The Iskander short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) system was developed by the Kolomna-based Machine-Building Design Bureau (Russian acronym: KBM, Konstruktorskoe Buro Mashinostroeniya; now a subsidiary of the High-Precision Weapons holding) in the early 2000s. According to the system`s official technical specifications provided by KBM, the Iskander-E`s solid-fuel missile has an all-up weight of 3,800 kg, a payload of 480 kg, a minimum operational range of 50 km, and a maximum operational range of 280 km. It can be armed with three types of warheads, including high-explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG), high-explosive (HE), and high-explosive penetrating ones. The missile is equipped with an inertial navigation system (INS) coupled with GPS/GLONASS receivers and an optical seeker. It is supposed to have a circular error probability (CEP) of less than 10 m.

The Iskander-E`s 8x8 wheeled mobile launcher has a combat weight of 42,300 kg, a maximum road speed of 80 km/h, a range of 1,000 km, and a crew of three servicemen. It is equipped with two missiles. The system`s 8x8 wheeled transporter erector launcher (TEL) vehicle has a full weight of 40,000 kg, a maximum road speed of 80 km/h, a range of 1,000 km, and a crew of two servicemen. Each TEL transports up to two missiles. The Iskander-E`s mobile command-and-control (C2) post is based on the KAMAZ-43101 heavy truck. It has a full weight of 14,000 kg, a UHF communication range of 25 km, a HF communication range of 40 km, a maximum data processing time of 10 seconds, and a crew of three servicemen.

According to Vladimir Murakhovskiy, a defense analyst, one battery (including four mobile launchers) is the minimum Iskander-E unit to be exported to foreign customers. He stressed that Iskander-E can effectively eliminate enemy`s stationary/mobile C2 posts and artillery positions. Therefore, the system may serve as a deterrence weapon, the analyst supposes.
     
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