The Armed Forces of Ukraine hit the Russian Тor-М2 air defense system

29 November, 2023 Russian Tor-M2 air defense system in Zaporizhzhia, November 2023. Photo credits: External Pilot Ukrainian soldiers of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade destroyed a Russian Tor-M2 air defense system in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The video of the incident was shared on social media. Operators of the Shark unmanned aerial vehicle of the 128th Brigade detected a Russian air defense system position in the south and adjusted artillery fire on it. The system was struck by an unknown high-precision weapon.

Given the power of the explosion, it can be assumed that the M31A1 rocket of the HIMARS rocket system was used. The Russian lightly armored combat vehicle was not directly hit but was struck by a close explosion of ammunition, which was supposed to completely disable it.

The source of the video notes that the system's crew was neutralized. The position of the Russian air defense system was discovered (here) south of the village of Burchak in Vasylivka district, Zaporizhzhia region. It was located 18 kilometers away from the front line.

The location of the firing position of the Russian Tor-M2 air defense system.

Photo credits: DeepState map

According to a report by the Oryx analytical team, during the Russian invasion, the Russian military lost 23 Tor-M2 systems. The above-mentioned defeat will be the 24th one. It is worth noting that the target was struck and tracked by a Ukrainian Shark drone, which over the past year, has become the main means of reconnaissance and adjusting fire at a depth of up to 80 kilometers.

Due to their long flight range and high resistance to enemy electronic interference, these drones have become part of reconnaissance and strike systems deployed on the basis of HIMARS and M270 rocket systems.

Shark drone on the launcher. Photo from open sources

Tor SAM

The Tor air defense system is a Soviet and Russian all-weather tactical anti-aircraft missile system designed to solve the tasks of anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense at the division level. The Tor-M2 can simultaneously hit up to four targets at a distance of up to 16 kilometers and at an altitude of up to 10 kilometers.

One self-propelled launcher can carry 16 missiles.