According to the director of international cooperation of the Russian company Rostec, the new naval short-range anti-aircraft protection system Pantsir-ME would generate great interest among Middle Eastern partners of the Russian defense industry.
Derived from the Pantsir-S1 and S2 close protection system, staffed by several armed forces including the Russian armed forces, for the close protection of sensitive sites, the Pantsir-ME consists of a UHF and EHF band radar, displaying a 35 km detection range and 25 km engagement range for a large target, as well as an IFF interrogator system. The Panstir is designed to engage up to 12 targets in one minute, ranging from cruise missiles to combat aircraft and drones.
For this, it has two 30mm cannons powered by 700 rounds each with a rate of fire of 2500 rounds per minute, and a maximum range of 4 km, and 3 km altitude.
The Pantsir-ME also has 8 57E6 anti-aircraft missiles with a maximum range of 30 km, the control of which is ensured by the Pantsir tracking and engagement system, capable of controlling up to 4 missiles simultaneously.
The great advantage of the Pantsir-ME is its relative small size, and its mass, allowing it to be deployed on low tonnage vessels. The manufacturer Rostek estimates that the device can be implemented by a patrol boat weighing barely 500 tonnes. Thus, the Russian Navy decided to equip its Project 228xx corvettes, like the Karakurts, with this system, even though they only weigh 800 tonnes and are less than 70 meters long, providing these light patrol boats with powerful power. anti-aircraft and anti-drone fire comparable to Western ships 4 times more imposing, such as the French Light Furtive Frigates, which will only be equipped with a Sadral system equipped with 6 Mistrals missiles.