Russia’s state corporation Rostec has showcased its Pantsir family of air defense missile systems and an Airspace Control System at the World Defense Show in Saudi Arabia, putting the spotlight on radar capabilities designed to counter some of the most elusive aerial threats.

At the center of the presentation was the Pantsir platform, built to engage targets at short and medium ranges. According to Rostec, the system’s radar can detect even the most difficult objects for conventional tracking — including low-speed targets and aircraft flying at extremely low altitudes, such as FPV drones.

Foreign military delegations were shown several versions of the system: the ground-based Pantsir-S1M, the naval Pantsir-ME, and the latest Pantsir-SMD-E. The complexes can simultaneously deploy three types of missiles, including newly introduced mini-missiles. Each system carries a loadout of 48 lightweight short-range interceptors.

Rostec also demonstrated how the Pantsir units operate in tandem with the Airspace Control System (SKVP), forming what the company describes as a unified reconnaissance-and-fire network. The corporation stated that this configuration has already proven effective in the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine. The SKVP is tasked with detecting all airborne objects, classifying them, and transmitting their coordinates in real time to groups of Pantsir combat vehicles, which then engage the identified targets.

Earlier, Military Watch Magazine reported that the expanded missile arsenal has allowed Pantsir to address overload issues during large-scale drone attacks. The increased ammunition capacity enables the system to sustain prolonged firing without immediate reloading.

Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov has emphasized that the technical potential of the Pantsir air defense systems is virtually unlimited. He stated that a single combat vehicle is capable of intercepting an entire volley fired by the American HIMARS multiple launch rocket system.