Greece to terminate contract with Russia for maintenance of Tor-M1 and Osa-AKM air defense systems.

According to topwar.ru, Greece intends to refuse to service its Russian Tor-M1 and Osa-AKM short-range anti-aircraft missile systems operated by the Greek army: the contract with Russia will be terminated, the portal Pronews reports..
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9K33M3 Osa-AKM SA-8B air defense missile system (Picture source: Vitaly Kuzmin)

According to the Greek portal, the Greek Ministry of Defense plans to terminate the contract for the maintenance of the Tor-M1 and Osa-AKM air defense systems, which have been in service with the Greek army for more than 20 years. These anti-aircraft systems are installed on the islands of the Aegean Sea. The Tor-M1 air defense systems are considered to be outdated, but very reliable systems capable of intercepting all air targets, including cruise missiles.

Refusal to service air defense systems means their gradual decommissioning but it is not clear yet what will replace these Russian-made air defense systems. With a high probability, after their decommissioning, they will be offered to Ukraine, as Kyiv has been licking its lips at them for a long time, especially against the backdrop of a shortage of air defense systems.

To date, the Greek army is armed with 21 Tor-M1s and 38 Osa-AK/AKMs. During exercises, these systems showed a 92 to 98% effectiveness in hitting air targets.

The TOR-M1 9A331-1 (NATO code: SA-15 Gauntlet) surface-to-air missile system is based on a tracked armored vehicle equipped with a turret fitted with a top-mounted target acquisition radar, frontal tracking radar, and 8 ready-to-fire 9M330 or 9M331 missiles stored vertically between the two radars. The missile of the TOR-M1 is able to engage aerial targets at a firing range from 100m to 12 km and altitudes from 10 to 6,000 m.

The Osa-AKM is an upgraded version of the Soviet air defense system that went into service in 1971. Its production ceased in 1989, although these air defense systems are still operational in some countries, including Belarus, Poland and Ukraine. The Osa-AKM is armed with six 9M33M3 missiles capable of striking adversary aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, remotely-piloted aerial vehicles and other air-launched weapons flying at an altitude of 10-5,000 m, at a range of 1.5-10.3 km (0.9-6.4 mi) and at a speed of up to 500 m/s.

TOR-M1 of the Hellenic Air Force (Picture source: GreekMilitary.net)

Defense News August 2023