Vietnam Considers the Purchase of Pantsir Short Range Air Defence

02 Mei 2018

Pantsir SM short range air defence (all photos : Soha)

The Pantsir anti-aircraft missile system is considered as the brightest candidate for the short range air protection network in Vietnam.

At present, the squadrons of the Vietnam People's Air Defense Forces are equipped with the Strela 10 (G-13 Gopher) and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns ZSU-23-4. High mobility, very good at the time of birth, but so far they have been outdated, difficult to meet the requirements of modern warfare.

In the development trend, the purchase of next-generation low-altitude air-to-air missiles to give it the role of "guerrilla" combat alongside the S-300PMU-1 as Russia is deploying in Syria, or the ability to "head cover" for motorized infantry is an urgent need.

At the time four to five years ago, there was widespread perception that Vietnam might soon be ready to purchase Russian-made Pantsir- S anti-aircraft missile systems.

However, for some reason that has not happened yet.

But now that more conditions have matured, especially when this weapon proved a great tactical skill after the war in Syria, it is probably time for Vietnam to return to the plan order.

If you still believe in Pantsir, Vietnam will "accidentally" get a big advantage thanks to the delay.

With a direct-to-modern orientation, we can skip Pantsir-S1 to go straight to Pantsir-S2, or even the newest generation Pantsir-SM, when they pass the house tests. Russia, which was not completed a few years ago.

According to information from the manufacturer, the Pantsir-SM anti-aircraft artillery unit will use the next-generation 8x8 truck chassis developed by the Kamaz Group.

Pantsir-SM's combat performance is estimated to be 1.5-2 times higher than the Pantsir-S1 standard. This is due to the state-of-the-art Active Phase A (AESA) radar equipment built by the SKB Design Team.

The new radar helped Pantsir-SM's surveillance range increase to 70 km (40 km away), with a target range of up to 40 km (while the previous version was only 20 km).

In addition, the AESA radar has increased the number of surveillance targets at once and the ability to detect low-radar reflective objects such as cruise missiles and flying targets equipped with stealth technology.

The Pantsir-SM developers are also targeting the possibility of destroying long-range artillery shells driven, rocket-launched by ground-based vehicles, and surface water with ultrasonic speed.

Hopefully, in the near future, this state-of-the-art weapon system will be on service in the Vietnamese People's Army to better protect the sky.

(Soha)