Military expert Yuri Knutov said the use of compact Gvozd missiles significantly expands the Pantsir air defense system’s ability to counter large-scale drone attacks.
According to Knutov, a launcher can carry a block of four smaller interceptors in place of a single standard missile. This configuration can raise the Pantsir-SMD ammunition load to as many as 48 missiles, giving the system greater capacity when numerous aerial targets appear at the same time.
Knutov said the low-cost Gvozd missile and the 48-round loadout were developed specifically to give the Pantsir the ability to engage swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles.
The Pantsir family was originally designed as a short-range air defense system. The mobile Pantsir-S combines missiles with automatic cannons and can be used both to protect key facilities and to reinforce other elements of an air defense network.
The Pantsir-SMD version is geared more heavily toward stationary site protection. It was developed with mass drone raids among its primary threats.
According to Rostec, the system’s fire-control architecture combines radar and electro-optical sensors. Its automated systems can detect and track aerial targets while also assessing the results of an engagement.