The new turret shares features found on the formidable Pantsir-S1 air defense system and the Kashtan close-in weapon system it aims to replace.
Russian media is reporting that the long awaited upgrade of the Kashtan(Chestnut) close-in weapon system (CIWS) will begin testing in 2018. Trials will start on a land range before moving to the sea aboard one of Russia's Project 1241 Molniya missile corvettes in the Black Sea. The country's new Project 22800 Karakurtcorvettes will be the first vessels to receive the system operationally once testing is complete.
Panstir-ME appears to be something of a mix between the potent Pantsir-S1land-mobile self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery gun system and existingKashtan CIWS installations found on many Russian-built naval vessels dating back to the Cold War. It uses a modified version of the Pantsir's 1RS2-1E phased array radar system as well as an electro-optical/infrared targeting and identification system mounted above the radar in a similar fashion as seen on many of its ground-based cousins.
There is no early warning radar system directly attached to the Panstir-M mount, like the RS1-E1 mounted on many Pantsir-S1 vehicles. Instead, early warning will be provided by the ship's radar suite and/or by a similar detached early warning radar mounted elsewhere on the ship. The system's own radar can also provide early warning detection as well as fire control functions over a more limited sector of fire.
Its main armament includes a naval version of the Pantsir's 57E6-E surface-to-air missile. This is a two-stage missile that can hit targets (aircraft, cruise missiles, drones) from half a mile to ten miles away, and from just a number of feet above the surface up to nearly 30,000 feet. These missiles are carried in four tubes on each side of the turret, and like Kashtan, twin rotating magazines below deck can reload each side four times over automatically within a matter of seconds. 32 missiles in total are carried.
Pantsir-ME will also be able to fire the Hermes-K surface-to-surface missile. Presumably, these missiles would be outfitted on the Pantsir-ME when the vessel is operating in littoral areas where small boat swarming attacks are possible, or when nearby shore strikes are required. The Hermes-K can be outfitted with a semi-active laser seeker so that near over-the-horizon targets can be hit pricelessly if a forward operating unit—such a drone, aircraft, or special operations team—is lasing the target with a laser designator. Because of the system's unique twin-magazine configuration, a mix of both missiles could be carried operationally.
Panstir-ME appears to be something of a mix between the potent Pantsir-S1land-mobile self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery gun system and existingKashtan CIWS installations found on many Russian-built naval vessels dating back to the Cold War. It uses a modified version of the Pantsir's 1RS2-1E phased array radar system as well as an electro-optical/infrared targeting and identification system mounted above the radar in a similar fashion as seen on many of its ground-based cousins.
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| Russian MoD -Truck-mounted Pantsir-S1 |
There is no early warning radar system directly attached to the Panstir-M mount, like the RS1-E1 mounted on many Pantsir-S1 vehicles. Instead, early warning will be provided by the ship's radar suite and/or by a similar detached early warning radar mounted elsewhere on the ship. The system's own radar can also provide early warning detection as well as fire control functions over a more limited sector of fire.
Its main armament includes a naval version of the Pantsir's 57E6-E surface-to-air missile. This is a two-stage missile that can hit targets (aircraft, cruise missiles, drones) from half a mile to ten miles away, and from just a number of feet above the surface up to nearly 30,000 feet. These missiles are carried in four tubes on each side of the turret, and like Kashtan, twin rotating magazines below deck can reload each side four times over automatically within a matter of seconds. 32 missiles in total are carried.
Pantsir-ME will also be able to fire the Hermes-K surface-to-surface missile. Presumably, these missiles would be outfitted on the Pantsir-ME when the vessel is operating in littoral areas where small boat swarming attacks are possible, or when nearby shore strikes are required. The Hermes-K can be outfitted with a semi-active laser seeker so that near over-the-horizon targets can be hit pricelessly if a forward operating unit—such a drone, aircraft, or special operations team—is lasing the target with a laser designator. Because of the system's unique twin-magazine configuration, a mix of both missiles could be carried operationally.
