Watch the video “Rafael Advanced Defense Systems - Sky Spotter High Resolution Electro-Optical Sensor Array” and answer the questions:

1) Why is a new high-resolution electro-optical sensor so unique?

2) What do modern radar systems suffer from?

3) What makes radars conspicuous to the enemy?

4) Why are the Sky Spotter field-of-view sensors so special?

5) How helpful are passive sensors for Sky Spotter?

6) How does Sky Spotter automatically identify the object?

7) How can Sky Spotter close the airspace so that no target could escape under the radar?

6. Before the video. Practise reading and pronunciation of these words and word combinations:

submarine [ˌsʌbm(ə)'riːn]

soft and kill torpedo [tɔ:ˈpi:dəu]

countermeasure [ʹkaʋntə͵meʒə]

probability of intercept [ˌprɔbəˈbɪlɪtɪ] [ʹıntəsept]

exposed to the threat [ıkʹspəʋzd] [θret]

reactive decoy [rɪˊæktɪv ˊdi:kɔɪ]

active acoustic homing torpedo [ əˈku:stɪk]

submarine sonar [ˈsəunɑ:]

customized deception signals [ ˈkəstəˌmaɪzd dɪˈsepʃ(ə)n ]

external launcher [ ɪkˈstɜːn(ə)l   ˈlɔːn(t)ʃə ]

neutralize the torpedo [ ˈnjuːtrəlaɪz ]

periscope depth [ ˈperɪskəʊp depθ]

various capabilities [ ˈveərɪəs  ˌkeɪpəˈbɪlɪtɪz ]

message distribution [ ˈmesɪdʒ   dɪstrɪˈbjuːʃ(ə)n ]

ideal solution [aɪˈdɪəl səˈluːʃ(ə)n]

Work in pairs. Watch the video “Rafael. Underwater Systems” and use the questions below to make a short dialogue with your partner.

1) What is the Rafael underwater system used for?

2) What are the two torpedo countermeasures of the Rafael defense system?

3) Explain the way Scutter protects a submarine against the attacking torpedo?

4) When is the Torbuster attack needed?

5) Explain the Torbuster launch method.

6) How does Torbuster identify the torpedo and neutralize it?

7) What is Floatlink used for?

8) What are the Deeplink unique capabilities?

Word list
operating range - 1. рабочий диапазон 2. радиус действия

operating conditions - условия эксплуатации (электрооборудования)

thermocouple [ˈθɜːməkʌp(ə)l] термоэлемент

bolometer - болометр; терморезистор

information fusion- объединение информации (из различных источников)

survivability - способность выдержать удар (с сохранением боеспособности)

pinpoint - засекать цель

defense suppression attack - для подавления ПРО

background clutter -фоновые мешающие отражения

staring sensor - прибор обнаружения без механического сканирования

 

UNIT 5

Russian Defense Systems

Read the text and answer the questions below.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union invested heavily in its air defense systems. As a result, Russia now possesses some of the most advanced air and missile defense systems in the world. Russian air defense systems are also highly proliferated and are currently in use by dozens of nations around the world. Furthermore, many countries have developed variants and begun indigenous production of these weapons systems.

Current Russian air defense doctrine follows a three-tier approach. This layered system allows Russian air defense forces to create anti-access area-denial (A2AD) zones that can be difficult to penetrate. The highest tier of these defensive networks uses long-range systems such as the S-200 and S-400, providing air defense bubbles potentially up to 800 km in diameter.

These zones are typically augmented by the second tier which includes medium-range systems like the S-300 and 9K37 Buk. This medium-range layer is intended to increase radar coverage within the air defense zone and augment the more limited inventories of longer-range interceptor missiles. The third tier uses mobile short-range systems like the 9K33 Osa and S-125 Neva to provide extra protection for key areas such as military bases. These systems, along with highly mobile systems like the 9K37 Buk are often also attached to formations of ground forces in the field.

Due to their vulnerability to low-flying threats such as cruise missiles, the first- and second-layer defenses are often guarded by Pantsyr-S1 point air defense units.

The Pantsir S-1 (NATO: SA-22 Greyhound), is a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and missile (SPAAGM) system designed by Russia.

Pantsir at a Glance

Originated from: Russia
Possessed by: Algeria, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Syria, UAE, Vietnam
Alternate Names: Pantsyr, SA-22 Greyhound, “Carapace” (Russian translation)
Class: Surface-to-Air (SAM)
Basing: Mobile, ground-based
Warhead: 20 kg high-explosive fragmentation (57E6 missile)
Range: 20 km (Pantsir-S1), 30 km (Pantsir-S1M), 40 km (Pantsir-SM)
Status: Operational
In service: 2003-Present

Development

Russia’s KBP Instrument Design Bureau began development of the Pantsir in 1989 as a replacement for the 2K22 Tunguska air defense system. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, requirements for the system changed. Instead of providing defense for airfields, missile silos, command centers, and communication arrays, the Pantsir was redefined as a short-range defense for Russian ground forces and longer-range air defense systems like the S-300, S-400, and S-500. The finalized Pantsir design entered service in 2003.

Description

The Pantsir air defense system incorporates anti-aircraft guns and missiles to intercept tactical aircraft, precision-guided munitions, and small unmanned aerial vehicles. Using its solid-state search radar, the Pantsir can track up to 20 tactical aircraft-sized targets at a range of 32 – 36 km. After detection, the system can select targets with its high-frequency engagement radar or optional thermal imaging sensor. Although each Pantsir launch vehicle is capable of functioning independently, they typically operate in batteries of six launcher vehicles and are occasionally accompanied by a separate command and control vehicle.

The baseline Pantsir system is equipped with up to twelve 57E6 missiles and two 30mm 2A38M cannons, allowing it to engage up to four targets simultaneously. The 57E6 is a two-stage missile with radio-command guidance and 20 kg blast-fragmentation warhead. A variant of the 57E6, the 9M335, features a continuous-rod fragmentation warhead. Both missile variants are 3.3 m long, 170 mm in diameter, and weigh 75.7 kg at launch.

Using 57E6 missiles, the Pantsir-S1 can engage tactical aircraft at a maximum range of 20 km and altitude of 10 km, subsonic cruise missiles at a range of 12 km and altitude of 6 km, and high-speed air-to-ground missiles at a range of 7 km and altitude of 6 km. At targets perpendicular to the system’s orientation, missile engagement ranges are halved. The 57E6 also possesses a minimum engagement range of 1.5km. Using its guns, the Pantsir-S1 can engage airborne targets at 4 km at a maximum altitude of 3km. Each gun can fire up to 40 rounds per second and possess a secondary capability to attack ground targets.

In 2020, Pantsir’s chief designer disclosed the existence of two new Pantsir-compatible missiles. The first—with a smaller fragmentation warhead and top speed of Mach 5—has reportedly entered Russian service. The second missile remains under development and is estimated to enter production between 2023 and 2024. Designed to defeat small unmanned aerial vehicles, the missile will possess a maxium range of 5 – 7 km and a reduced size, allowing for up to 48 to be fitted on a Pantsir turret.

Several upgraded Pantsir variants are in development. The Pantsir-SM, announced in 2016, will supposedly feature a detection range of up to 75 km and an engagement range of 40 km. Russia first tested the Pantsir-SM in early 2019. An export variant of the Pantsir-SM, the Pantsir-S1M, incorporates a new missile and features an engagement range of 30 km.

Service History

Since 2013, Russia has deployed Pantsir S-1 to Syria amid the country’s civil war to defend its soldiers and Syrian government forces.

The Pantsir has also played a role in the Russian/Ukrainian conflict. Notably, pieces from a Pantsir 57E6 missile were found in Ukraine in November 2014, and in December, it was confirmed that Russia had deployed the air defense system to the Russia-Ukraine border region. In February 2015, reports and footage of Pantsirs being used by pro-Russian forces in Ukraine’s Donetsk region surfaced. The system has also been deployed in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.

 

1. What were the initial requirements for the Pantsir system?
2. Why were they changed?
3. Were there any alterations in the missile purposes?
4. What helps the system to choose the targets?
5. Does the Pantsir system always work independently?
6. Can this missile hit ten targets at the same time?
7. How does the 57E6 variant of the missile differ from the former one?
8. When can the missile engagement ranges be reduced?
9. Can the Pantsir system attack ground targets using its guns?
10. Describe the main features of two new missiles that could be used together with the Pantsir system.