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Russia to develop anti-aircraft system for Arctic

Pantsir mounted on a GM-352 chassis.

Russia is planning to develop a special tracked version of its Pantsir anti-aircraft gun and missile system for use in the Arctic.

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The makers of Russia’s Pantsir (NATO reporting name SA-22 Greyhound) self-propelled  surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system want to make a tracked version for deployment in the Arctic, TASS reports.

Pantsir is typically mounted on a wheeled chassis, giving the weapon system restricted maneuverability in heavy snow. Mounted on a tracked chassis, snow and ice will be no problem for the system’s mobility.

The KBP Instrument Design Bureau is now working to increase the Pantsir’s reliability in severe climate conditions. Icing-up is the main problem, and the makers are now improving both the chassis’ reliability and the frost-resistance of different oils and power fluids.

The Pantsir system is already deployed in the Russian Arctic. Three serial-wheeled SA-22s have been employed at the Temp air base on the Kotelny Island since 2014.

As previously reported, the Russian Northern Fleet late 2013 took major efforts in the reopening of the Temp airfield at Kotelny, one of the main islands at the archipelago New Siberian Islands.