Russia's
new generation S-500 air defense system will resolve the country's missile
defense problems when it enters service, Air Force Commander Colonel
General Alexander Zelin said. "The S-500 air defense system is
a system that will solve Russia's missile defense problems," Zelin
said.
Iskander
Missile SS-26 Stone is a short range tactical missile
system developed and produced in Russia. The system
replaces the Oka SS-23 SPIDER which had been terminated
under the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
Development of the system was undertaken by the
Kolomna Engineering Design Bureau development during
the 1990s under the project name "Tender".
The Iskander SS-25 Stone theatre missile system
is designed to destroy enemy weapons, command posts,
communications nodes, tactical aircraft parked on
airfields, air and missile defence installations
and other critical targets in operational depth
round the clock and in any season when countered
by heavy regular and precision-guided munitions,
weapons of mass destruction, as well as anti-missile
defence and EW assets. All Iskander vehicles feature
cross-country wheeled chassis making them very mobile.
The missile is solid-fuelled, single-staged with
continuous guidance along the whole trajectory.
It features a non-separable warhead with a self-contained
INS coupled with an optical homing head. The warhead
can house a cluster-bomb, HE-fragmentation or penetration
charge.
Variants
:
Iskander-M
: Range 400 km with a potential for extension to INF
Treaty violating 500 km. Iskander-E : export version, range:
280 km. Iskander-K : new version, year 2007,
with a new cruise missile R-500, range : 280 km max.
The
Iskander system is combined of six types
of vehicles. The Transporter-Erector-Launcher
(TEL) is based on the new BAZ6909 eight
wheeled truck chassis. Fully loaded with
two missiles, a TEL weighs 40 tons. The
transporter loader also carries two missile
reloads. The mission preparation station
is equipped to process intelligence data,
converting it to target data fed to the
missile's navigation system. Command and
staff vehicle, maintenance and life support
vehicles complete the Iskander's unit. The
TELs will remain in concealed position throughout
the mission preparation, and require only
a brief exposure to an open area to erect
and fire one or two missiles. After launching,
the vehicle immediately leaves the area
seeking the safety of another concealed
area.
Missile
The
SS-25 Stone Iskander missile system is equipped
with a solid-propellant single-stage guided
missile 9M723K1 controlled throughout the
entire flight path and provided with a non-separable
warhead. The missile is designed for mobile,
autonomous operation and is capable of striking
point and area targets at ranges of 50 –
280 km. The missile can carry conventional
warheads, cluster bombs splinter munitions
and allows for precision-strike operations.
The target accuracy is 5-7 meter coupled
with optical homing head and 30-70 m in
autonomous application. A Thermobaric warhead
is also believed to be part of the missile's
warhead options. An unconventional warhead
could also be an option, including a tactical
nuclear warhead.
Truck
The
Iskander missile is mounted to the MAZ-543
truck, the 9P78E is the self-propelled launcher
and the 9T250E is the transporter-loader
vehicle. The 9T250E, is also used as command
post, launch data preparation post, maintenance
and support vehicle. The 9M72-Missile SS-26
Stone is a powerful, solid fuel propelled
short-range surface-to-surface missile,
and can be fired quite fast in less than
8 minutes after warning. The Iskander-M
is mounted to the truck MZKT-7930.
Accessories
The
missile is difficult to track with radar
systems because it does have a very low
flight curve with the apogee at about 50
km. The speed of the missile is about 2.6
km/s. Russia does export Iskander missiles
as Iskander-E with a lower range and some
other limited capabilities.
Thousands of military pictures high resolution about armoured and military equipment of worldwide ground forces Subscribe Here Des milliers de photos en haute résolution sur les véhicules blindés et équipements des forces terrestres du monde Abonnez-vous ici