Russia to arm navy’s small missile ships with Pantsir-ME air defenсe system

Renat Mistakhov, director-general of the Ak Bars shipbuilding corporation has said that Russia is planning to equip all small missile ships of the navy with Pantsir-ME anti-aircraft missile system.

“We will offer customers of the small missile ships that incorporate the Pantsir system tested on the ship. This is a ship of the Karakurt project. Today, Pantsir is already on all our ships and will be. If earlier we installed the Duet anti-aircraft systems, today it is Pantsir, which is really effective,” Mistakhov said, Caliber.Az reports, citing Kommersant daily.

According to him, all the declared characteristics of Pantsir-ME were confirmed during the tests.

Pantsir-ME is an anti-aircraft missile and artillery system, consisting of command and combat modules, a storage and reloading system. The combat module includes two 30-millimetre artillery guns, which are aimed at eight transport and launch containers with missiles.

Mistakhov, in a conversation with the agency, drew attention to the fact that at present, the ship must have efficient artillery, a missile system, which is the export option of Kalibr - Pantsir, to fully provide ships’ air defence. He added that ships must now protect themselves from air and sea drones.

A small rocket ship is a subclass of rocket ships in the Soviet naval classification. It occupies an intermediate position between a missile boat and a large missile ship.