Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed Russian Pantsir-S1 SAM

11 May, 2023 Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile system. Illustrative photo The Ukrainian military hunted down the Russian Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile system on the outskirts of Bakhmut.

The press service of the 45th Separate Artillery Brigade released the video. Air reconnaissance of the 45th Separate Artillery Brigade detected the position of the Russian anti-aircraft missile system and adjusted the fire of the Ukrainian soldiers at it, which resulted in the destruction and disabling of the combat vehicle. Nevertheless, the Russians managed to evacuate the disabled system to a safe place.

Subsequently, the aerial reconnaissance of the 132nd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces was able to track down the evacuated anti-aircraft missile system and find it in a reserve position. After that, the missile unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine finally destroyed the system. The destruction of Pantsir-S1 was followed by a huge detonation of the air defense system's ammunition.

Later, the aerial reconnaissance of the 45th Separate Artillery Brigade filmed the remains of the anti-aircraft missile system on video and confirmed its complete destruction. A group of OSINT analysts managed to geolocate the position of the Russian air defense system (shown here) in the village of Paraskovivka, Donetsk region, which is located just north of the city of Bakhmut, where fierce battles are currently taking place.

After the first hit, the system was transported to the north, where it was finally destroyed.

The place of destruction of the Russian Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile system, village of Paraskovivka, Donetsk region, May 2023.

The authors of the video do not directly name the missile unit and the type of equipment that hit the Russian air defense system. However, taking into account the firing principle, the nature of the hits and the direct hits of each of the two attacks, it can be assumed that GMLRS guided missiles from M270 or HIMARS were used. Pantsir-S1 is a Russian ground-based self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system (SAM).

The system was created in 1994 and was first demonstrated at MAKS-1995. Since then, the system has been significantly upgraded. The last known modification was demonstrated at MAKS-2007.

On November 16, 2012, by the order of the Russian government, the Pantsir-S1 was adopted by the Russian army.

Captured Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile system

The system's feature is the combination of a multichannel target capture and tracking system with missile and artillery weapons, which creates a continuous zone of target interception at a height starting from 0 m and at a range starting from 200 m. Its altitude reach is 15 km, and it has a range of 20 km. The upgraded Pantsir-SM short-range anti-aircraft missile-gun system is mounted on the K-53958 "Tornado" wheeled chassis with 8x8 wheel formula.

The vehicle has an armored three-seater cabin and reinforced anti-mine protection.