The Tor short-range air defense (SHORAD) systems have intercepted hundreds of targets in combat, the Russian media reported quoting officials. The Tor SHORAD family is developed and produced by the Russian Almaz-Antey’s Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant Kupol.
Tor is a multichannel, all-weather SAM system designed to intercept drones, high-precision weapons, aircraft and helicopters flying at different altitudes (including extremely low altitudes), in all weather conditions, at any time of day and night, under conditions of intensive fire and electronic countermeasures.
“The high combat capabilities of the Tor family of SAM systems have been repeatedly confirmed in practice, including in live combat, during which they shot down hundreds of different means of air attack. The unparalleled performance of the Tor family of SAMs is highly appreciated by Russian operators as well as Russia‘s foreign partners and allies”, reported the Russian media.
As the RAMG underlines, the distinctive features of the latest tracked Tor-E2 version are: fast deployment time from mobile to combat mode – 3 minutes; capability to conduct reconnaissance of the combat situation on the move; large ammunition load – 16 SAMs per vehicle; response time from target acquisition to missile launch is 5-10 seconds. The airspace survey speed is 1 turn of the antenna per second, which is the world ‘s best indicator in the class of short-range SAM systems.
The Tor SHORAD is highly automated and it can operate in fully automatic mode. The killing zone is 15 km.
Optionally, the Tor family SAMs are available in a variety of carrier designs. In addition to the standard tracked version, Tor-M2K on a wheeled chassis, Tor-A on a twin tracked off-road vehicle and Tor-M2KM autonomous combat module have been developed. The Tor-M2K is optimally suited for countries with a developed network of paved roads. The carrier base of the Tor-A is a twin tracked off-road vehicle. Thus the Tor-A is specialized for operation in extreme climatic conditions and difficult terrain.
All radar and optical subsystems, a high-speed digital computer, launchers with missiles and power supply and life support facilities of the Tor-M2KM modular version are mounted in special self-contained combat module (SCCM) without chassis. The deployment time is 3 minutes, while time of redeployment of SCCM from one platform (carrier) to another is 10 min. The Tor-M2KM can even be airlifted by Mi-26 helicopter.
The combat module is intended for defending of stationary objects and can be used from the deck of a ship, a railway platform, roofs of buildings etc. The module is easily coupled with any chassis of suitable payload capacity, which obviously is a beneficial solution for countries interested in integrating SAMs with their own chassis.
