The Russian Ministry of Defense began re-equipping units and formations of the Western Military District with a new anti-aircraft system. The rearmament of the ZVO anti-aircraft gunners has already begun. The Tor-M2 air defense missile system has been transferred to the 6th separate tank brigade in Mulino near Nizhny Novgorod. Also, a batch of these air defense systems entered service with the 1st Guards Tank Army.
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Tor-M2 air defense system (Picture source: Russian MoD)
The rearmament with a new anti-aircraft system takes place as part of the fulfillment of the state defense order by the Izhevsk electromechanical plant "Kupol". According to the previous state contract, since 2017, the ground forces have already received six Tor-M2 divisions that were distributed among the units of the Western and Southern military districts.
In 2019, the Ministry of Defense signed a long-term contract with the Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant Kupol for the supply of Tor-M2 and Tor-M2DT anti-aircraft missile systems to the troops. The agreement, worth almost 100 billion rubles, is designed for the supply of equipment until 2027.
The Tor missile system is an all-weather low- to medium-altitude, short-range surface-to-air missile system designed for destroying airplanes, helicopters, cruise missiles, precision-guided munitions, unmanned aerial vehicles and short-range ballistic threats (anti-munitions). Originally developed by the Soviet Union under the GRAU designation 9K330 Tor, the system is commonly known by its NATO reporting name, SA-15 "Gauntlet". A navalized variant was developed under the name 3K95 "Kinzhal", also known as the SA-N-9 "Gauntlet".
Tor-M2 acts as an autonomous Transporter, Launcher, And Radar unit, or TLAR (similar to but not a TELAR, as it does not erect the missile to a launch position). The 9A330 is based on the GM-355 chassis manufactured by MMZ, the Tor-M1 using the improved GM-5955. It is equipped with NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) protection. There are static and towed versions of the Tor, as well as a wheeled one. The reaction time of the original Tor is 7–8 (standard) or 7–10 (if it is in motion) seconds.
Tor was the first air defense system in the world designed from the start to shoot down precision-guided weapons like the AGM-86 ALCM day and night, in bad weather and jamming situations. Tor can detect targets while on the move. The vehicle must stop intermittently when firing, although trials are being conducted to eliminate this restriction
The ammunition load on the vehicle has been increased from 8 to 16 missiles. The system can work in a fully automatic mode.
