Specialists of the 705th military mission of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation completed the reception of the first production batch of the short-range 9K331MDT "Tor-M2DT" anti-aircraft missile system, the press service of the military department reports. In total, 12 development systems of the enterprises of Concern EKR Almaz-Antey JSC were received.

“Tor-M2DT” is a modification of the “Tor-M2” air defense missile system, designed specifically for Arctic conditions. Its main feature is the chassis of the DT-30 Vityaz two-link tracked tractor-all-terrain vehicle. This car was specially created for off-road driving at extremely low and high temperatures (-50 ... + 40 ° С).

Tor-M2DT was first shown to the public on May 9, 2017 at the Victory Parade on Red Square. This complex will receive combined arms deployed beyond the Arctic Circle. Since December 2014, the United Strategic Command (USC) "Sever" with headquarters in Severomorsk has been responsible for the Arctic borders of the Russian Federation from Murmansk to Anadyr.

In February 2018, the Tor-M2DT conducted the first live firing at the Kapustin Yar proving ground (Astrakhan Region). According to the Ministry of Defense, the launches were carried out "in a difficult target situation, in the conditions of interference simultaneously on two targets in the air imitating cruise missiles."

  • Combat firing "Tor-M2"
  • © Ministry of Defense of Russia

According to Almaz-Antey, Tor-M2DT is intended to repel an air attack within a radius of 15 km (as opposed to 12 km from Tor-M2). The tasks of the air defense system include the protection of military and government facilities, as well as motorized rifle and tank units.

The capabilities of the 9K331MDT complex make it possible to hit all types of aircraft (airplanes, helicopters, drones) and operational-tactical missiles (cruise, anti-radar, aviation). Thor is also capable of intercepting planning and guided bombs.

New generation complex

Work on the creation of a small radius air defense system "Thor" began after the issuance of the relevant decree of the USSR government on February 4, 1975. The project was led by the famous Soviet scientist Veniamin Efremov. He was tasked to create a self-propelled air defense system for the Ground Forces with a high degree of automation control.

Development work took less than 10 years. The head developer of the Tor vehicle is the Electromechanical Research Institute (Moscow), the Fakel ICB (Khimki) created the 9M330 guided missile, and the Minsk Tractor Works - tracked chassis.

The USSR Ministry of Defense adopted the "Tor" in service in March 1986. Simultaneously with the start of mass production, the modernization of the complex began. After two years of testing, the Tor-M1 9K331 air defense missile system began to arrive in the army, which had the best opportunities to hit low-flying targets (first of all, cruise missiles).

In addition, the upgraded version of the complex was equipped with more sophisticated equipment. For example, a target detection station received a three-channel digital radio processing system. The innovations made it possible to reduce the crew of a combat vehicle to three people (commander, operator, driver) and increase noise immunity in the conditions of active electronic countermeasures.

In the mid-2000s, Almaz-Antey specialists began a deep modernization of their offspring. In 2012, deliveries of Tor-M1-2U to the troops began, and in 2015, Tor-M2, which the Russian Defense Ministry calls the new generation complex for its ability to work flawlessly "in a complex meteorological and jamming environment."

“A combat vehicle (Tor-M2. - RT ) provides simultaneous detection of more than 40 targets, their ranking by danger, tracking and simultaneous shelling of four targets with four successively launched rockets,” the defense ministry said.

  • LAW "Tor-M2"
  • © Ministry of Defense of Russia

According to specialists of the Ministry of Defense, the Torah anti-aircraft missiles (SAM) were specially designed for effective interception of "small-sized, intensively maneuvering targets, which provides a significant advantage over the closest foreign analogues."

In March 2016, during combat firing at the Telemba (Buryatia) training ground at night, the Tor-M2 calculations identified several fast-flying small-sized airborne Saman targets and simulators and successfully destroyed them.

Almost invulnerable

The Tor-M2 arsenal consists of 16 vertical launch missiles, capable of intercepting targets flying at speeds in excess of 2 Machs (2520 km / h). The range of destruction is from 1 to 12 km, height - from 10 m to 6 km (according to other data - up to 10 km). "Tor-M2" can detect up to 48 targets and conduct simultaneous shelling of four.

When starting the missile is ejected from the container by the ejection device. The deviation of the rocket at the right angle is carried out using a special gas generator. Marching engines almost instantly accelerate it to maximum speed. The missile defense system is equipped with an active radio fuse and a high-explosive fragmentation warhead.

The engineers of Almaz-Antey paid much attention to the ability of the complex to operate in a fully automatic mode, that is, to independently detect and accompany objects without the participation of a combat crew.

“Thor” can function in the mode when the calculation needs only to issue a command to launch a rocket. This greatly simplifies the work of the crew. The fire is conducted almost continuously and alternately, if several targets are being fired, ”explained Yury Knutov, director of the museum of air defense in Balashikha, in an interview with RT.

The key advantage of "Tor-M2" experts call a target detection station operating in the centimeter range. The station can detect objects regardless of their ability to maneuver in an attempt to reduce the effective reflective surface. In addition, the air defense system is equipped with a phased antenna array, which is characterized by the ability to quickly review (scan) the airspace.

  • Anti-aircraft missile system "Tor-M2"
  • © Ministry of Defense of Russia

According to Knutov, the only shortcoming of the Torah is that the missile complex is too expensive to destroy one or more small-sized drones. For the rest of the characteristics, this air defense system confidently surpasses all foreign samples of this class in terms of price and efficiency.

The Thor, along with the Pantsir-S missile and cannon complex, is the only self-propelled air defense system in the world capable of firing on the march. This significantly increases its mobility, vitality, makes it almost invulnerable to the means of defeating the enemy. All these advantages cause the high popularity of the Tor-M2 in our troops and good prospects in foreign markets, ”concluded Knutov.