Russia continues to develop naval version of Tor-M2U air defense missile system
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 The TOR-M2U is an upgraded version of the TOR-M2 short-range air defense missile system. Picture via armyrecognition.com |
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The land-based Tor-M2U being modified for shipboard application comprises a tracked launcher, a transporter-loader and a maintenance vehicle - the latter two are on wheeled chassis.
The latest version’s key feature is its ability to down stealth aircraft. It also uses a more sophisticated SAM from the Fakel Design Bureau - the 9M331 - and features enhanced immunity to electronic countermeasures (ECM). The system has the full automatic operating mode. In this mode, its all-round surveillance radar scans airspace. If targets are detected, the IFF responder identifies them as either friend or foe. In this case, the microwave phased-array tracking radar kicks in. Since its beam is steered electronically (i.e. virtually instantly), rather than mechanically, the reaction time is minimal. The Tor-M2U’s missile has radio command guidance, with the fuse having both the impact and proximity modes. The SAM withstands 30 g and eliminates targets jinking at 12 g. The system may acquire up to 48 threats, simultaneously tracking eight of them and engaging four. |
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 Naval version of Tor-M2 as shown by Almaz-Antey during IMDS 2013 naval defence exhibition |
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The Kinzhal’s ammunition load is far bigger, because the Kinzhal equips large combatants displacing in excess of 1,000 tons. They can accommodate over 10 Tor modules, each of which packing eight missiles. For instance, the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier has 24 modules like that. Clearly, the Tor’s naval version will have enough SAMs, because on the high seas one cannot expect a transporter-loader to bring the reloads on tap.
The Kortik SAM/AAA system was developed by KBP (Instrument Design Bureau) in Tula that had made an impressive progress in artillery fighting modules. Therefore, the system turned out to be not quite ‘symmetrical’, because its two six-barrel automatic AA guns capable of letting off 10,000 rd/min. are more sophisticated in engineering terms than the SAM effective at an altitude similar to that of a man-portable air defense system. In this connection, replacing the Kortik with an advanced system being developed by NIEMI seems to be quite reasonable, and Kupol’s plans are quite feasible here. As to the replacement of the Kinzhal, the two systems do not differ that much in performance terms. Therefore, the decision-makers will consider both their technical and economic parameters, expert Vladimir Tuchkov writes in his article with the Svobodnaya Pressa news agency. The Tor-M2 SAM system is a new-generation SHORAD weapon of the Tor family. It designed to defend key military and administrative installations against attacks of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft, cruise and guided missiles, smart bombs, including glide ones, and unmanned aerial vehicles by day and at night, in all weather and in countermeasures-heavy environment. The Tor-M2’s simultaneous acquisition capability exceeds 40 targets. The system prioritizes and tracks them and then engages four of them with four missiles launched in salvo. Its SAM was developed specifically to intercept small agile targets, and this affords the system a considerable advantage over its foreign-made peers. © Copyright 2016 TASS. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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