Ships of the landing forces of the Russian Navy operating in the Black Sea are replenishing their armaments with Tor-M2KM SAM modules. The strengthening of air defense is carried out taking into account the experience of operating the complex in real combat conditions.
A source in the naval sphere informed TASS news agency about the additional armament of landing ships performing special tasks in the Black Sea. The installation of combat modules of the Tor-M2KM SAM system is aimed at strengthening the defense of ships on duty in the Navy in this region.
So far, the initiative has not been officially confirmed, but such a step is a logical continuation of strengthening the military infrastructure in the Black Sea region. Last year, similar SAM modules were installed on patrol ships of Project 22160.
These complexes, starting with the Tor-M2, were originally designed to protect ground units from various airborne threats, including cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and even attacks carried out using stealth technology.
From open sources, it is known that the latest model of the Tor-M2KM SAM system (M- stands for chassis mobility) has the following characteristics:
- Target engagement range: from 1 to 16 km
- Target engagement zone in altitude: from 0.01 to 10 km (difference in altitude at which the target can be hit)
- Target acquisition and engagement preparation time: 4.8 seconds
- Maximum speed of engaged targets: 1000 m/s
- Number of targets the system can track simultaneously: 48
- Simultaneously engaged targets: 4
- Maximum load sustained by the missile: 30 g
- Missile flight speed: 1000 m/s
- Minimum RCS of the target: 0.05 m² (minimum radar cross-section of the target)
- Guidance system: jam-resistant radio command
- Number of SAMs: 16 missiles 9M338K
A feature of the Tor-M2 is the ability to fire even on the move, without the need to stop.
In 2017, Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant "Kupol" conducted tests of the Tor-M2K2 anti-aircraft missile system in the Black Sea, placing it on the lead frigate of Project 11356R "Admiral Grigorovich". The purpose of the tests was to test the operability of the complex during the movement of the frigate. The SAM system passed the test.
It is worth noting that, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the "Admiral Grigorovich", armed with Kalibr cruise missiles, today "arrived at the Tartus naval base (Syrian Arab Republic) and joined the permanent task force of the Navy in the Mediterranean Sea".