South Front
Screengrab, by the Russian Ministry of Defense, via Sputnik.
On April 29, the Russian Ministry of Defense released video footage showing a Tor-M2 air defense system intercepting a drone of Kiev forces over the special military operation zone.
The Tor-M2 first tracks the small drone, identified as an A1-CM Furia, with its radar and optical systems, then shoots it down with a single missile.
The Tor-M2 is a deeply upgraded version of the Soviet-era Tor medium-altitude, short-range air defense system. This version has an improved fire control radar coverage and protection against spoofing. It can also engage up to four targets simultaneously.
The main armament of the Tor-M2 is the 9M338 missile, which has a range of 16 kilometers and a flight ceiling of ten kilometers. A single system can be armed with up to 16 of the advanced compact missile.
The Furia is a hand-launched tactical reconnaissance drone that was developed by the Kiev-based Athlon Avia. The drone has an endurance of up to three hours and an operational range of 50 kilometers. It is typically equipped with an electro-optical system.
Russian short and medium-range air defense systems were proven to be highly effective against reconnaissance or combat drones in the course of the special military operations in Ukraine. According to the most recent briefing by the Russian MoD, 3,901 drones of Kiev forces have been shot down since the beginning of the operation.
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