Russia to complete tests of newest short-range «Sosna» missile defense system in 2016

State trials of the new Russian short-range Sosna missile defense system will begin in early 2016 so that the Russian Defense Ministry can deliver the complex by the middle of the year, a deputy head of the system’s designers said Wedesday.

The system is intended to protect against all types of air threats including high-precision weapons e.g. cruise missiles and guided aircraft missiles in the area of the system responsibility: in range – up to 10 km, in altitude – up to 5 km.

Structure principles

• mount of missile armament with a launcher in one combat vehicle, air search and target tracking equipments, missile flight control units that are combined by integrated optronic combat control system
• missile armament consists of 12 high-speed high-precision maintenance-free missiles SOSNA-R deployed in a launcher. Light weight of the missiles allows to dispose of a transport/loading vehicle from the system
• optimal configuration of surface-to-air guided missile (SAM) payload allows to improve impact effect due to increased weight of spread warheads and application of impact/non-impact laser fuse with continuous circular beam pattern and adaptive burst time
• special multichannel automatic high-precision practically all-weather and day/night optronic control system
• combined missile control system:
– radio command system in start zone
– remote orientation in laser beam after engine division and missile targeting to the line-of-sight
• optronic combat control system with sector scan and in the automate target designation mode provide autonomous target detection capability

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Qualities

• high effectiveness of combat application including high-speed and low-flying targets and helicopters during pop-up maneuvers
• high automation of combat processes
• day/night and all-weather capability of combat processes
• concealed fire preparation and high survivability
• unlimited minimum flight altitude of hitting target
• radar and optical countermeasure equipments immunity
• capacity to firing on the move

Performance characteristics
armament SAM “Sosna-R”, 12 pcs.
missile weight at launch, kg 30
missile weight in TLC, kg 42
caliber before / after SAM detachment, mm 130 / 72
maximum velocity, m/s 900
guidance system combined
engagement zone, km
   in range up to 10.0
  in altitude up to 5.0
day / night use available
time
   reaction, s 5.0 – 8.0
   reloading, min 10.0
operating mode autonomous and centralized control

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