The Pantsir-S1, whose NATO reporting name is SA-22 Greyhound, is currently the best
available Russian land-based point air defence system.
It combines mobility with advanced detection systems, autocannons, and missiles.
These days, when we face the risk of the Second Cold War evolving into the Third World War,
the importance of this air defence system is increasing exponentially.
As the Weapon Detective, we are investigating the Pantsir-S1 and its fight against modern
air threats.
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The Pantsir-S1 has fought against aerial threats in the Middle East and the Maghreb for nearly
a decade.
It has been one of the key actors of the Russo-Ukraine conflict, which has now turned into a full-scale
war.
The effectiveness of the system is highly questionable.
Westerners and Russians have shared different information on combat experiences.
And both are after their propaganda.
Before we begin to investigate the Pantsir-S1, let's look at the history and features of
the system.
The development of the Pantsir air defence system, initially called Tunguska 3, began
in 1990.
But, after the collapse of the USSR, the programme experienced serious setbacks.
Developing a new air defence system for the newly established Russian Federation had lost
priority.
Spending money on things not really needed was now a luxury for Moscow.
Still, the first prototype was completed in 1994 and displayed at the MAKS-1995 air show.
The new vehicle called Pantsir-S was built on the Ural-5323-20 8x8 truck.
But later, Russia really had no money to continue the programme.
Some sources claim that the designer company, KBP, used its own funds for further progress
after that.
But, Russia's debt to KBP had already reached 20 billion rubles in 1994.
So, where did the company get the financing?
Luckily, a rich country, the United Arab Emirates, needed a point air defence system.
Thus, it became the financer of further works.
Now, KBP had plenty of money and re-designed both the turret and radar systems and removal
of any older subsystem of the Tunguska.
The new production model, called Pantsir-S1, was also built on the KaMAZ-6560 8x8 truck.
The live firing trials took place in 2006 and the final tests in 2007.
The United Arab Emirates became the first customer of the Pantsir-S1 and took over the
first systems in 2007, which were built on the MAN SX 45 8x8 trucks instead of the KaMAZ-6560s.
Russia took the Pantsir-S1 into the service in 2012.
Its Russian Armed Forces designation is ZRPK 96 BD.
The Pantsir-S1 is intended to use against conventional air threats, such as low and
extremely low-flying combat jets and helicopters.
Russia claims that it is also a highly effective air defence system against precision munitions,
cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, shortly UAVs.
In general use, the Pantsir-S1 provides air defence cover for military installations and
other high-value civil targets, such as industrial areas or government buildings.
Also, its mission definition contains protecting the higher ranking air defence systems like
the S-300 and S-400.
Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Myanmar, Oman, Russia, Serbia, Syria and the
United Arab Emirates are the current user of the Pantsir-S1.
The Libyan National Army, shortly LNA, which fights against the internationally recognised
Government of National Accord, shortly GNA, also operates this system.
Some sources claim that Iran and Vietnam have the Pantsir-S1, but we cannot find any official
and visual confirmation.
The Pantsir-S1 has a three-person crew.
Its combat weight is about 30 tons.
There is no officially published full-spec of the whole system.
But, the base vehicle, KaMAZ-6560 8x8 truck, has 400 horsepower KaMAZ-740.35-400 diesel
engine, a road speed of 90 kilometres per hour, a range of about 1,000 kilometres.
It can negotiate 0.6-metre vertical steps and 2-metre trenches.
The fording depth of the truck is 1.8 metres.
The base vehicle of the United Arab Emirates' vehicles is the MAN SX 45 8x8 truck.
It has a 440 horsepower MAN D2066 LFG diesel engine, a road speed of 88 kilometres per
hour, and a range of 750 kilometres.
There are also non-serial variants of the Pantsir, which were built on the MZKT-7930
and BAZ-6909-019 8x8 trucks, and the GM-352M1E tracked carrier.
The Pantsir-SM variant, which is not operational yet, is built on a new 8x8 KaMAZ-53958 truck
chassis.
It has an armoured cab.
The Pantsir-SA is specifically designed for the Arctic Region.
It combines is the DT-30MP-T1 articulated tracked carrier and the turret.
This variant has no autocannon.
The Pantsir-SA has an 800 horsepower YaMZ-847.10 diesel engine, a road speed of 45 kilometres
per hour, and a range of 700 kilometres.
The naval variant of the Pantsir air defence system is Pantsir-M. Its export model is the
Pantsir-EM.
This system uses two 30mm six-barrel GSh-6-30K/AO-18KD rotary cannons, eight missiles instead of
12 and an additional radar separate from the one fitted on top of the turret itself.
The Pantsir air defence system fires the 9M335 or 57E6 two-stage missiles.
The 57E6 has a maximum speed of Mach 3.8.
During the 18-kilometre range, the average speed of the missile is over Mach 2.
It can be used against a target flying at a speed of 1,000 metres per second.
The effective range is between 1,2 to 20 kilometres and effective altitude of between 15 to 15,000
metres.
The 57E6 has a 20-kilogram warhead.
The maximum range of the 9M335 with a 16-kilogram warhead is 12 kilometres.
Neither the 57E6 nor 9M335 have seekers, which make them low-cost missiles.
The vehicle-mounted sensors direct them.
The Russians claim that these missiles have a 70 per cent first-shoot-to-hit rate.
By using experiences gained in Syria, Russia developed the Pantsir-SM variant.
It can fire the new 57E6M-E missile, which has a 25-kilogram warhead, a range of 40 kilometres,
an effective altitude of 18,000 metres, and a maximum speed of Mach 5.
Its export variant is the Pantsir-S1M.
There are 750 pieces of ready-to-fire ammunition for each of two 30mm 2A38M autocannons.
The guns have a maximum effective range of 4,000 metres and a rate of fire of 2,500 rounds
per minute for each.
The 30mm autocannons are also practical for self-defence against nearby enemy ground units.
The Russian claims that the Pantsir-S1 had the counter rocket, artillery, and mortar,
shortly C-RAM, capability.
The target acquisition radar is folded on the move to decrease the total height.
It can detect an aircraft with a radar-cross section of 2 square metres at a range of 30,000
metres.
The Pantsir-S1 can simultaneously track 24 out of 30 targets within a range of 28,000
metres.
The UHF/EHF dual-band Phazotron Shlem passive electronically scanned array target tracking
radar and electro-optical sensors are in the front part of the turret.
After the target is detected, whether the missile or the barrelled weapon system would
be more appropriate is determined automatically.
The new L-band search radar of the Pantsir-SM variant has a range of 75 kilometres.
Its new multifunctional EHF fire-control radar can track the targets at a range of 40 kilometres.
The Pantsir air defence system can work in a completely passive mode, which means it
can attack a target without using its radars.
The Pantsir-S1 can give its best performance when stabilized to the ground during firing,
thanks to the four hydraulic rams.
It can be ready to fire in less than five minutes after stopping.
But, the system can also fire missiles and guns on the move if all radars and sensors
are in use.
The reaction time of the Pantsir-S1 is 4 to 6 seconds.
The Westerners and Russians disaccord about the Pantsir-S1 combat effectiveness.
Naturally, men are blind in their own cause.
Both sides of fights involving the Pantsir-S1 have told different stories.
The pro-Turkey GNA and Turkish sources claim that over 15 Pantsir-S1s have been destroyed
by air and artillery attacks in Libya.
The GNA has denied these claims, even though there is even some video footage as evidence.
Shooting down a Turkish unarmed RF-4E reconnaissance aircraft near Latakia in 2012 is the first
known combat action of the Pantsir-S1 in Syria.
After that, this system has fought against mainly UAVs.
The Russian sources assert that the Pantsir-S1 has managed to shoot down at least 20 UAVs
including the Heron, Bayraktar TB2, RQ-21A, and intercept many artillery rockets.
They also claim that this system destroyed 23 of 103 US, British, and French cruise missiles
launched against Syrian targets on April 14, 2018.
However, the US Department of Defense stated no allied missiles were shot down during this
attack.
According to the official Russian sources, alongside the Buk-M2s, the Pantsyr-S1s intercepted
at least 80 Israeli air-to-surface missiles in 2021.
In change, only six systems were damaged or destroyed during the war in Syria.
Of course, Western countries say they have suffered far fewer casualties, while they
have eliminated more Pantsir-S1s.
Only Turkey has mentioned at least eight victories against the Pantsir-S1 in Syria.
Yet, Russia has denied some video footage about the destruction of this system and argued
that they are CGI.
In 2017, a Pantsir-S1 of the United Arab Emirates mistakenly shot down a Saudi UH-60 Black Hawk
helicopter as a friendly fire accident.
The Russian sources claim that this system managed to destroy some Ukrainian UAVs during
the 2014 Russian invasion of Crimea.
Today, the Pantsir-S1 is fighting in this country again.
However, the footages from the region prove that the Armed Forces of Ukraine can still
use its armed UAVs and helicopters effectively.
Combat footage shows us that the Pantsir-S1 is neither as effective as the Russians claim
nor as ineffective as the Westerns claim.
It is a relatively good solution against modern UAVs.
But, the system has no total dominance over them.
According to Turkish sources, the Pantsir-S1's radar can detect armed UAVs, like the Bayraktar
TB2.
But, it experiences difficulty identifying them even the electronic countermeasures systems
are not in use.
When the electronic jamming is activated, the radar becomes blind totally.
The fact that Russia started working on the Pantsir-SM variant after Syria experiences,
which has a more powerful radar, supports this claim.
While the Russian says that the Pantsir-S1 has C-RAM capability, the experiences show
otherwise.
Yes, the system managed to intercept some artillery rockets.
But, one of the most common ways to destroy a Pantsir-S1 is to use long-range howitzers.
The modern western electronic intelligence equipment can easily intercept the radar signal
of the system and precisely locate it.
Then long-range artillery shells are sent to the position.
The combat reports show us the Pantsir-S1 cannot effectively intercept them.
Some military experts, like Viktor Murakhovsky, argues that the system has reached only a
19 per cent success rate in Syria, and it is a complete failure.
But, according to our analysis, being a complete failure is an exaggerated argument.
Yes, many foreign users of the system are pro-Russia.
However, Algeria, Oman and the United Arab Emirates have money, and they have a good
relationship with the West.
Still, they have chosen the Pantsir-S1.
Actually, we should also acknowledge that there is no proper alternative to it in the
West.
Some sources claim that the USSR intended to create the successor of the 2S6 Tunguska
with the Pantsir programme.
But, as you may see, the Pantsir-S1 has neither suitable mobility nor ballistic protection
to accompany the armoured units in open fields combat.
Even the footage of a bogged down and abandoned Russian Pantsir-S1 in the war in Ukraine proves
the argument.
It is not a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with missiles.
The Pantsir-S1 is a surface-to-air missile system with autocannons.
The 30mm guns are the secondary weapons.
Despite its shortcomings, the Pantsir-S1 is one of the best options in its class, and
it is one of the most valuable Russian air defence assets in the wars in Libya, Syria,
and Ukraine.
Thanks for watching our video.
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