9K330 Tor The project was given strict design specifications to meet; Tor had to provide extended detection and tracking of fast, low
radar cross section targets and be capable of quickly and efficiently dealing with massed air raids, while providing a high degree of automation and integration with other air defence assets. To meet these demanding specifications, the designers used a variety of new technologies, including advanced
passive electronically scanned array radar for improved detection and tracking performance, enhanced digital information processing, and vertically launched missiles to improve reaction time and increase the number of readily available munitions. After testing and evaluation between December 1983 and December 1984, the land-based system was accepted into service on 19 March 1986.
9K331 Tor-M1 "Tor-M1", introduced in 1991 with the 9M331 missile, with greatly improved missile accuracy Even while the Tor was being introduced into service, work started on improving the system, resulting in an enhanced version, the Tor-M1. Many improvements over the original system were made; these included the addition of a second fire control channel, allowing two targets to be engaged at once; as well as upgrades to the optical tracking system and computer equipment.
ECM protection and warhead design were also modified, as was the ammunition handling system. In comparison, Tor-M2E achieved a 100% rate in 2009, Tor-M2 a 100% rate in 2013 (10 km), and Tor-M2 a 100% rate in 2014, all in heavy ECM environments against four simultaneous small, high-speed targets.
9K332 Tor-M2E vehicle features at the
MAKS 2009 show (
Buk missiles in the background) Upgrades have continued over the lifetime of the system, with developer Almaz Antey unveiling the next incarnation of the Tor missile system, the Tor-M2E, at the
MAKS Airshow in 2007. This variant features: • improved fire control radar coverage, • four guidance channels, allowing up to four targets to be engaged simultaneously, • protection against spoofing. Ammunition of the Tor-M2 includes 8 missiles 9M331 or 16 missiles 9M338 with increased altitude and range. Tor-M2 missiles have a range of 16 km, maximum altitude of 10 km and maximum speed of 1000 m/s. The system is capable of short-stop firing, which takes 2–3 seconds for the system to go from motion to stationary and firing of the missile. The Tor-M2E is offered in either wheeled or tracked chassis and is equipped with a new digital computer system and all weather optical tracking system. Crew of 2. The system is fully automated. • "Tor-M2K (9К332МК)" – with a wheeled 9А331МК chassis developed by the Belarusian company «
MZKT» mounting two 9M334 missile modules, each with four 9М9331 missiles. • "Tor-М2КМ (9К331МКМ)" – modular design (towed variant weight reduced to 15 tons), to accommodate various types of chassis. 9А331МК-1 TELAR mounting two 9M334 missile modules with four 9M9331 missiles. At MAKS-2013 this was shown on an Indian Tata chassis. The affected area expanded to height – 10 km, distance – 15. Crew of 2. Chance to destroy any target 98% as a minimum. Significantly improves the
penetrating power of warhead fragments. The system is fully automated.
Tor-M1-2U "Tor-M1-2U" entered service at the end of 2012. This system is designed to destroy aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, missiles, and other precision guided weapons, flying at medium, low and very low altitudes in all weather. The system is able to engage four targets simultaneously at a height of up to 10 kilometers. Its crew consists of three people. Deliveries are underway. It can hit targets on the move, at a speed of up to 25 km/h (includes all the necessary functions for independent fight).
3K95 Kinzhal (naval variant) The
3K95 "Kinzhal" ( –
dagger) is the naval version of the Tor missile system developed by
Altair and has the
NATO reporting name SA-N-9 Gauntlet. Using the same 9M330 missile as the land based version, the system can be mounted on vessels displacing over 800
tonnes and is known to be installed on the aircraft carrier,
Kirov-class multimission cruisers, anti-submarine destroyers and frigates. The naval version of the later Tor-M1 is known as the
"Yozh" ( –
hedgehog), while the export version of the Kinzhal is known as
"Klinok" ( –
blade). Despite starting testing earlier than its terrestrial counterpart, the naval variant, Kinzhal, had a more protracted development. Much like its land based sibling, the target engagement radar can track and guide eight missiles on up to four targets at once and is effective to a range of 1.5–12 km and an altitude of 10–6000 m. The system is managed by a crew of 13. According to a Russian source, the system is being installed as of November 2023 on large landing ships of the Black Sea Fleet.
Tor-M2DT The system is especially designed to be used for Arctic region at temperatures up to −50 degrees °C based on the chassis of the
DT-30PM tracked all-terrain vehicle and is capable of detecting over 40 air targets, especially high-precision weapons, and to track and engage up to four of them simultaneously at a range of up to 12 km and altitudes up to 10 km with its 16 missiles even on the move. Its creation was completed in 2018 and the first delivery of 12 systems was held in November of the same year. It was deployed in Ukraine in December 2022, with at least two systems being destroyed by Ukrainian artillery using
M982 Excalibur shells by 3 February 2023 along with a
DT-30.
Tor-E2 JSC Rosoboronexport, part of the Rostec State Corporation, has started promoting the newest Tor-E2 SAM system developed and produced by the Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defence Concern in 2018. Tor-E2 combat vehicle is an independent, mobile, all-terrain fighting unit that provides detection and identification of air targets on the march and at the halt, target lock-on and engagement at the halt, from a short stop and on the move. A battery of the four-channel Tor-E2 SAM systems, consisting of four combat vehicles, can simultaneously engage up to 16 targets flying from any direction at a range of at least 15 km and an altitude of up to 12 km. Each vehicle carries 16 missiles, twice as many as the previous version of the Tor system. In addition, the two Tor-E2 combat vehicles can operate in the "link" mode, which enables them to exchange information about the air situation at different altitude ranges and coordinate joint engagement operations. In this mode, one of the combat vehicles, acting from an ambush, receives information from the other one and does not reveal itself until the launch of the missile. A command post can be attached to a battery of four Tor-E2 combat vehicles to control and coordinate the Tor combat vehicles and interact with the customer's air defense control system.
HQ-17 (Chinese variant) The
HQ-17 is a Chinese development of the Tor-M1 system with a new chassis, IFF array, radar, and other electronics. In 1996, China ordered 14 Tor-M1 missile systems from Russia which were delivered under contract in 1997. In 1999, another contract for 13 Tor-M1 systems was signed between Russia and China. Delivery of the systems took place in 2000.
FM-2000 The
FM-2000 is a mobile
short-range air-defence (SHORAD) system unveiled by
China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation at the 2018
Zhuhai Airshow and in service as of 2019. Its range is 15 km and engagement altitude is 10 km. It is carried on a 3 axle TEL. It is a version of the HQ-17.
Dezful (Iranian variant) The Dezful is an Iranian development of the Tor-M1 with upgrades that include installing a new thermal optical camera with the ability to operate day and night and replacing the older analog radio-electronic equipment with digital equivalents. It has a range of 12 km and an altitude of 6 km == Combat history ==