Izhevsk "Tor" and new records
Press service of IEMZ "Kupol"
This year marks 35 years since the Tor anti-aircraft missile system, developed on the basis of the Moscow Scientific Research Electromechanical Institute (NIEMI), was adopted by the Soviet army.
For a long 11 years, work was underway to create a unique anti-aircraft complex, which at that time had no analogues in the countries of a potential enemy. Then there was painstaking, regular work to modernize and expand the combat capabilities of the complex. And today the performance characteristics of the "Tor" family complexes are appreciated by both domestic military specialists and foreign experts.
Two years ago, the Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant "Kupol" signed the largest defense contract for the supply of divisional sets of caterpillar and arctic "Tor" until 2027 for the Russian Ministry of Defense. As Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces General of the Army Oleg Salyukov emphasized at the time, it was the Tor-M2 complex that was the most effective means in combating tactical drones.
The Tor complex has already experienced three waves of deep modernization - first to the level of Tor-M1 (1991), then Tor-M2U (2009) and Tor-M2 (2016). Each of these waves radically improved the tactical and technical characteristics in comparison with their predecessors.
For 35 years, the intelligence capabilities of the complex have increased many times over. The response time to a change in the air situation is now 1 second instead of 3 seconds for the first version of the complex. The new "Thor" for one revolution of the radar antenna "sees" 48 targets instead of 24 before. For example, in 3 seconds, the increase in the number of detected targets increased 6 times: 144 instead of 24 in the first version. The target detection range has increased to 32 km.
The firing capabilities of the complex have objectively increased. Today, the main feature of the new "Thors" is highly effective counteraction to tactical high-precision arms and almost all types of UAVs.
If the first "Torahs" were capable of firing at only one target, then modern combat vehicles of the family are capable of simultaneously firing at 4 air targets. The accuracy of the guidance of the anti-aircraft guided missile made it possible to abandon the practice of firing one air attack with two missiles.
Today, the probability of hitting a target with one missile of the "Tor-M2" complex is 0.97. The ammunition load of the combat vehicle has been doubled - up to 16 missiles. Anti-aircraft gunners claim that they were able to intercept targets flying up to 1000 m / s - which is almost three speeds of sound.
In the near future, experts expect the Tori to present the implementation of the capabilities to intercept missiles and aircraft flying at a speed of Mach 3.
Thanks to the advanced technologies and design solutions of the Izhevsk gunsmiths, "Torah" were the first in the world to "learn" to hit targets on the move. In 2021, the software of the Tor-M2 military combat vehicles was upgraded. Shooting in motion at speeds up to 40 kilometers per hour has already been officially confirmed! The new mode of combat operation has significantly expanded the list of combat capabilities of the "Tor-M2" for anti-aircraft cover of troops on the march.
New "Torah" set world records during deployment from traveling to combat position: now this time takes only 3 minutes, which is several times faster than foreign counterparts.
The developers of the complex are using the experience of the combat use of "Thors" during the war in Syria.
So, during the defense of the Khmeimim airbase, the complex successfully hit more than 60 air attack weapons. Joint actions of "Torov" were successfully worked out both with long-range systems S-400 and missile-gun complexes "Pantsir-S".
Separately, it should be noted the work on information and technical interfacing of "Torov" with short-range complexes, and the creation of an inexpensive small-sized missile to destroy cheaper drones.
Izhevsk gunsmiths promise that the Torah's ammunition capacity will soon increase significantly: in the same standard transport and launch container, three small-sized missiles will be placed at once - to effectively combat drones in the near zone and repel massive UAV raids.
Combat use as part of an echeloned air defense system requires high coordination of calculations of various units, which is achieved not only by training and drills of anti-aircraft gunners, but also by improving the technical means of interface.
The "Thor" complex is a "team player", the developers assure, and the team's success largely depends on the efficiency of information exchange between members of the anti-aircraft "team".
Information