Thor - 2019
Photo by IEMZ Kupol JSC
2019 year was filled with events related to Russian anti-aircraft missile systems. Moreover, this concerned not only long-range air defense systems (C-300 and C-400), but also their downstream associates. Short-range air defense systems of the Tor family almost every month occupied the top lines of informational tapes.
So, in 2019, information on the participation of the Tor-M2 air defense system in the counter-terrorist operation in Syria was officially confirmed. It became known that, providing the air defense of Khmeimim, the "dome" complex destroyed about a hundred air attack weapons that attacked the base. According to the results of the battles, the Tor-M2 air defense missile systems not only confirmed the declared characteristics in real battles, but was also recognized as the optimal means of combating small-sized low-flying targets. As a result, as reported by the media with reference to an unnamed source in the commander-in-chief of the Navy, the 1096th anti-aircraft regiment of the Black Sea fleet, providing air defense of Sevastopol, it was decided to rearm not on medium-range complexes, but on the Tor-M2 air defense system.
In June, at the Army-2019 forum, a prototype of the Tor family of air defense systems was presented on the chassis wheeled chassis of the Bryansk Automobile Plant. This was another demonstration of the capabilities of the Torov air defense system to interface with the most diverse chassis of the customer’s choice.
In July, at the training ground on Novaya Zemlya, the Northern Fleet air defense forces conducted large-scale exercises using the Arctic version of the Izhevsk anti-aircraft missile system. During the exercises, the Arctic SAM "Tor-M2DT" once again proved that it is able to provide real protection for administrative and military installations from modern air attack weapons in this remote Russian region. On 30 on November 2019 of the year, the Northern Fleet air defense units equipped with the Tor-M2DT air defense missile systems took up combat duty.
In October 2019, the Tor-M2 air defense missile system, consisting of 12 combat vehicles and controls, was shipped to the 726 training center for the Air Defense Forces for training and rearmament of the 245 anti-aircraft missile battalion 42 of the motorized rifle division of the Southern Military District.
It is worth noting that air defense systems are not only the most important component of ensuring the security of Russia, but also an important tool of geopolitical influence. An example of this is the joint Egyptian-Russian exercise "Arrow of Friendship 2019", which took place on October 26 - November 7 at the training ground of the tactical training center of the air defense forces of the Arab Republic of Egypt. They also involved the Tor-M2E anti-aircraft missile systems that are in service with the Egyptian armed forces.
The manufacturer and developer of the Tor family air defense systems is the Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant Kupol (part of the Almaz-Antey aerospace defense concern). This year, the enterprise completed the execution of the state contract under the state arms program 2011-2020. All six divisions of the Tor-M2U and Tor-M2 air defense missile systems were delivered to the troops on time or ahead of schedule. The reliability of the enterprise, the high quality of its products became the basis for the conclusion of a new contract within the framework of GPV-2018-2027, which was signed between the enterprise and the Russian Ministry of Defense 19 this September in Izhevsk in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kupol undertook to manufacture Tor-M2027 and Tor-M2DT air defense systems for a total value of almost 2 billion rubles by 100. Such a long-term contract was concluded with the country's defense industry enterprise for the first time.
SAM systems of the Tor family are the main, but not the only military products manufactured by the Kupol. The plant is actively expanding its line of defense products. In 2019, the debut of the latest developments of the IEMZ Kupol - UMTK Adjutant and BM Typhoon-Air Defense - took place. These products are developed by the enterprise on an initiative basis, but in close interconnection with specialists of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation under the general leadership of the Almaz-Antey concern. Universal target training complex "Adjutant" is designed to create a complex, as close as possible to the combat target situation during training calculations of anti-aircraft missile and artillery systems and systems. In 2019, with the help of UMTK Adjutant, the target environment was created during the tests of the newest Russian S-300В4 air defense system, during training firing of the Tor-M2DT air defense system on Novaya Zemlya, and during other tests and exercises. Another "dome" defense product, BM "Typhoon-Air Defense" is designed to provide mobility and increase the combat effectiveness of anti-aircraft guns MANPADS. On prototypes of these machines, Russian anti-aircraft gunners successfully performed during the Clear Sky contest of the 2019 Army International Games, which was held in China.
The company also carries out the modernization of previously manufactured complexes. Among them, the OSA "Wasp", also noted in the tapes News 2019 year. In November, a video appeared on the Internet about the destruction of the Osa-AKM air defense system of the Apache attack helicopter. This event confirmed that the Wasp remains a formidable adversary for modern air attack weapons. At IEMZ Kupol, a program was developed to modernize this complex to the level of Osa-AKM1, which can significantly increase its combat capabilities.
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