SA Tunguska
Type:Surface -to- AirYear:1986Range (km):2.5- 8 (0- 3 by guns) Ceiling (km):0.015- 3.5Weight (kg):42.0 Lenght (m):2.56Speed (m/sec):900 (3 M) Type of seeker:-Weight of warhead:9 kgNumber of missiles:8
MODERNIZATION OF RUSSIAN CLOSE-IN AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS
Close-in air defense (AD) systems play special role among field air defense weapons. Their primary task is to provide air defense of motorized and tank units and subunits in maneuvering combat and on the march by delivering fire on the move. Besides, practical close-in fighting requires that the systems be outfitted with effective AD guns capable of engaging both air and ground targets. The most successful type of these weapon systems is Russia’s famous Shilka self-propelled AD gun mount developed in the early 1960s and designed to fight primarily tactical aircraft and helicopters. The advent of tactical precision-guided weapons (PGW) called for the introduction of a missile channel to fight aircraft and helicopters before they could fire PGW. As a consequence, the renowned Tunguska AD gun-missile system was developed by the Tula Instrument Design Bureau and built in the 1980s.
Shilka SP gun mount
The intense development of air attack weapons has changed the approach to the modernization of this class of AD weapons. According to experts, the modernization potentialities of such systems as the Shilka and Tunguska have not yet been exhausted and optimal updating can considerably extend their service life, while their combat effectiveness canl satisfy the present-day requirements.
The principal lines of modernization of these systems are described below.