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Russia Builds Highly Effective
Pechora Surface-To-Air Missiles
Nikita
Petrov
RIA Novosti
Tuesday Aug 21, 2007
The final stage of the Combat Fraternity 2007 military exercise
will be held at the Ashuluk firing range in the Astrakhan Region
(southern Russia) on August 22. Defense ministers from ten CIS
states will fly to the range after the opening ceremony of the
MAKS 2007 aerospace show, which opens in Zhukovsky near Moscow
on August 21.
They will see the operation of the S-125 Pechora (NATO reporting
name SA-3 Goa), S-300PMU (SA-10 Grumble) and other air defense
missile systems, as well as the flights of the Su-27 Flanker interceptors
and Su-25 Frogfoot close support aircraft.
In fact, the ministers will see in action in the lower reaches
of the Volga what they saw on stands in Zhukovsky. The Joint Air
Defense System includes the absolute majority of CIS states, even
Ukraine, which is not a member of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO). Seeing it in action makes a strong impression
on air defense specialists and defense ministers, who are political
leaders rather than generals.
(Article continues below)
However, some systems will not take part in field firing exercises.
One of them is the Pechora-2M SAM system, which Egypt has bought
after a long period of dealing with other countries' military
exporters. About a dozen countries outside the CIS want to buy
Pechora. Among the former Soviet republics Tajikistan has bought
it, Uzbekistan is negotiating the acquisition, and Armenia is
considering a deal. What attracts them?
Vyacheslav Korotayev, deputy director general of the Defense
Systems company that produces Pechora-2M, said it is a revamped
version of the S-125 Pechora, which seven CIS countries still
have, along with missiles for it. Although Pechora-2M is supplied
together with new 5V27D and 5V27DE missiles, which have an improved
radio detonator and warhead, it can also use the older 5V27 missiles,
which is quite economic for any army.
The new Pechora is mobile and can be redeployed within 20-25
minutes, compared with three hours needed to move the old version.
This is of crucial importance for an air defense system, because
air battles do not last long, and the system also needs to evade
return enemy fire. The sooner it moves away, the more chances
it has to survive until the next battle.
Besides, Pechora-2M has cutting-edge microprocessors, with their
service life advanced from 30-40 to 2,000 and even 10,000 hours.
Moreover, the new jam-resistant system can successfully cope with
enemy ECM (Electronic-Counter-Measures) systems and missiles.
Experts recall that the United States had used Shrike anti-radar
missiles against targets in Vietnam. But things have changed since
then, and even the sophisticated HARM anti-radar missile is unable
to hit Pechora-2M aerial posts because they simply vanish off
the screen. Unlike its predecessor, which had a 26 km (16 miles)
range, the new SAM system can hit enemy aircraft 35 km (22 miles)
away.
The new system's aerial and command posts are located up to 300
meters from missile launchers. Commanders relay orders via telecode
and optronic networks, which shield telecommunications and engagement
control equipment from enemy ECM systems and enhance personnel
survival in case of air strikes.
The Pechora-2M features an optronic network comprising one TV
channel and one thermal imaging channel, allowing it to attack
and destroy aerial targets day and night in conditions of electronic
warfare. Consequently, the Pechora-2M can hit F-16 fighters at
a 30-km (19-mile) range and larger aircraft at a range of up to
35 km (22 miles).
The revamped Osa-AKM, Tor-M1 and Buk-M1-2 SAM systems have similar
optronic networks, but one Pechora-2M can cover an area assigned
to six or eight Osa or Tor systems. This is a serious advantage
in terms of the price-combat efficiency ratio.
It is for the latter reason that the CIS countries are buying
Pechora-2M, rather than S-300 or more expensive S-400 systems.
Military experts claim that it is more profitable for Russia to
sell the cheaper Pechora to its CIS and CSTO partners. Why?
To begin with, Russia does not have enough modernized S-300 and
the cutting-edge S-400 systems for its own armed forces. Second,
Pechora-2M can deal with many air targets, including some types
of ballistic and cruise missiles, no less effectively than S-300
or S-400, and for less money.
And lastly, a fence of modernized Pechora SAM systems along the
Russian border (Belarus has a similar system) deprives the potential
air aggressor or terrorist of the surprise factor. The incoming
targets can be destroyed long before they reach the country's
industrial, economic or cultural centers.
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