Russia builds Pantsir-S1 towers around Moscow to counter drones

The Russians are facing significant issues with Ukrainian drones targeting areas across western Russia. Consequently, a network of towers equipped with Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft systems has been constructed around Moscow. We explore whether reviving the concept of German Flak Towers around Berlin during World War II is a plausible strategy.

In the latter half of 2023, the Russians began building towers around Moscow for the Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft systems to enhance their effectiveness against low-flying objects.

This effort continues the previous strategy of placing Pantsir-1 systems on the roofs of government buildings within the city. While this approach had limited effectiveness due to surrounding structures, reviving the idea of Flak Towers in the suburbs has distinct advantages.

The main challenge for ground-based anti-aircraft radar systems is detecting targets flying just above the treetops. In such scenarios, the detection range, determined by the target's radar signature, is typically no more than about 40 kilometres due to the radar horizon.

It is physically impractical for any country to secure a border that spans several thousand kilometres, as this would necessitate placing an anti-aircraft system every 40 kilometres or less. Elevating the radar solves this problem, with ideal examples being AWACS-type aircraft working with aviation or mobile anti-aircraft systems in areas where intruders are detected.

However, Russia struggles significantly with this due to its limited number of A-50 aircraft and the losses it has sustained. Consequently, the Russians are trying to extend the range of their anti-aircraft systems by improvising and elevating the radar several dozen feet higher. Below, you can see an example of a Pantsir-S1 firing missiles at a Ukrainian drone.

The Pantsir-S1's history dates back to Russia's challenging 1990s when a less expensive alternative to the 2K22 Tunguska artillery-missile system was sought to reduce costs. Like the French, who were searching for an economical howitzer, the Russians concluded that the greatest savings for the new weapon system would come from mounting it on a regular truck chassis instead of an expensive tracked chassis.

However, due to budget constraints, the project in Russia was on the brink of collapse, only to be saved by the interest of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). UAE funding enabled the project's completion, which, unlike in Soviet times, was first introduced to foreign clients. The UAE received its systems mounted on German trucks in the early 2000s, and Russia introduced its version into service only in 2012.

The Pantsir-S1 is equipped with two radars, one for detecting targets and another for guiding weapons. These include a pair of 30-millimetre 2A38M automatic cannons with a firing rate of up to 2500 rounds per minute each and an anti-aircraft missile launcher.

The cannon component of the system has a wide selection of ammunition and can engage targets up to 4 kilometres, while the missile section includes 12 launchers grouped in sets of six. This allows for firing at multiple targets simultaneously. According to the Russians, the radio-command-guided missiles can engage targets up to 19 kilometres away and at altitudes up to 15 kilometres.

This is not a "fire and forget" system; the operators must guide the missiles until they hit the target. Moreover, compared to modern systems like Skynex, the Russian solution does not use programmable ammunition.

Despite satisfactory effectiveness against drones, the Pantsir-1 systems perform relatively poorly against modern stealth cruise missiles such as Storm Shadow.