RUSSIA BUILDS HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PECHORA SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES

RIA Novosti
19:09 | 20/ 08/ 2007

MOSCOW. (Military commentator Nikita Petrov for RIA Novosti) – The
final stage of the Combat Fraternity 2007 military exercise will be
held at the Ashuluk firing range in the Astrakhan Region (southern
Russia) on August 22.

Defense ministers from ten CIS states will fly to the range after
the opening ceremony of the MAKS 2007 aerospace show, which opens in
Zhukovsky near Moscow on August 21. They will see the operation of the
S-125 Pechora (NATO reporting name SA-3 Goa), S-300PMU (SA-10 Grumble)
and other air defense missile systems, as well as the flights of the
Su-27 Flanker interceptors and Su-25 Frogfoot close support aircraft.

In fact, the ministers will see in action in the lower reaches of the
Volga what they saw on stands in Zhukovsky. The Joint Air Defense
System includes the absolute majority of CIS states, even Ukraine,
which is not a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO). Seeing it in action makes a strong impression on air defense
specialists and defense ministers, who are political leaders rather
than generals.

However, some systems will not take part in field firing exercises. One
of them is the Pechora-2M SAM system, which Egypt has bought after a
long period of dealing with other countries’ military exporters. About
a dozen countries outside the CIS want to buy Pechora. Among the former
Soviet republics Tajikistan has bought it, Uzbekistan is negotiating
the acquisition, and Armenia is considering a deal. What attracts them?

Vyacheslav Korotayev, deputy director general of the Defense Systems
company that produces Pechora-2M, said it is a revamped version of
the S-125 Pechora, which seven CIS countries still have, along with
missiles for it.

Although Pechora-2M is supplied together with new 5V27D and 5V27DE
missiles, which have an improved radio detonator and warhead, it can
also use the older 5V27 missiles, which is quite economic for any army.

The new Pechora is mobile and can be redeployed within 20-25 minutes,
compared with three hours needed to move the old version. This is of
crucial importance for an air defense system, because air battles
do not last long, and the system also needs to evade return enemy
fire. The sooner it moves away, the more chances it has to survive
until the next battle.

Besides, Pechora-2M has cutting-edge microprocessors, with
their service life advanced from 30-40 to 2,000 and even 10,000
hours. Moreover, the new jam-resistant system can successfully cope
with enemy ECM (Electronic-Counter-Measures) systems and missiles.

Experts recall that the United States had used Shrike anti-radar
missiles against targets in Vietnam. But things have changed since
then, and even the sophisticated HARM anti-radar missile is unable
to hit Pechora-2M aerial posts because they simply vanish off the
screen. Unlike its predecessor, which had a 26 km (16 miles) range,
the new SAM system can hit enemy aircraft 35 km (22 miles) away.

The new system’s aerial and command posts are located up to 300
meters from missile launchers. Commanders relay orders via telecode
and optronic networks, which shield telecommunications and engagement
control equipment from enemy ECM systems and enhance personnel survival
in case of air strikes.

The Pechora-2M features an optronic network comprising one TV
channel and one thermal imaging channel, allowing it to attack and
destroy aerial targets day and night in conditions of electronic
warfare. Consequently, the Pechora-2M can hit F-16 fighters at a
30-km (19-mile) range and larger aircraft at a range of up to 35 km
(22 miles).

The revamped Osa-AKM, Tor-M1 and Buk-M1-2 SAM systems have similar
optronic networks, but one Pechora-2M can cover an area assigned to
six or eight Osa or Tor systems. This is a serious advantage in terms
of the price-combat efficiency ratio.

It is for the latter reason that the CIS countries are buying
Pechora-2M, rather than S-300 or more expensive S-400 systems. Military
experts claim that it is more profitable for Russia to sell the
cheaper Pechora to its CIS and CSTO partners. Why?

To begin with, Russia does not have enough modernized S-300 and
the cutting-edge S-400 systems for its own armed forces. Second,
Pechora-2M can deal with many air targets, including some types of
ballistic and cruise missiles, no less effectively than S-300 or S-400,
and for less money.

And lastly, a fence of modernized Pechora SAM systems along the Russian
border (Belarus has a similar system) deprives the potential air
aggressor or terrorist of the surprise factor. The incoming targets
can be destroyed long before they reach the country’s industrial,
economic or cultural centers.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and do not
necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.