Saudi Arabian authorities are considering purchasing 39 Pantsir-S1M short-range anti-aircraft missile and gun systems (SAM/Artillery Systems) from Russia. The total amount of the deal may be about 2.2 billion euros, military expert Evgeny Damantsev said, citing OCCRP.
Rumor has it that the kingdom is considering the possibility of localizing the production of the 96K6 Pantsir-S1M SAM/Artillery Systems. But there has been no official information about Saudi Arabia's intentions.
Military expert Evgeny Damantsev noted that customers are particularly interested in the small-sized 19Ya6 anti-aircraft guided missiles (SAMs) with a flight speed of 650-700 m/s and a range of 10 km, which are capable of effectively countering kamikaze drones.
The analyst suggested that Saudi Arabia's interest in the Russian complex is due to the low efficiency of the American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system in effectively countering Geran-2 drones at altitudes of less than 30 m.
Main characteristics of the Pantsir-S1M:
- Number of targets fired at simultaneously — 4
- Maximum speed of targets hit — 1000 m/s
- Aircraft engagement area with RCS of 2.5 m² and speed of 300 m/s:
- Missile armament: 1200-30000 m in range, 15-18000 m in height
- Gun armament: 200-4000 m in range, up to 3000 m in height
Earlier www1.ru reported on the main disadvantage of the BMP-3 with an anti-drone canopy.
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