Mother Russia has been infamous for it’s military might. Today, we are going to cover top 10 weapons used by the Kremlin army, navy and Airforce that are truly unique and unparalleled.
10. PANTSYR S1
This platform was developed to destroy the American A-10 and Ah-64 attack aircraft. It is SPAAG-M ( Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun – Missile), which is mounted on a Kamaz 8×8 truck entailing 6 SAMs and dual 30mm auto cannons taking the total to 12 missiles and four guns, along with other detection devices such as Passive Electronically Scanning Array (PESA) radars, electro-optical and Infrared sensors.
9. KRASUKHA-2/4 AND RICHAG-AV ELECTRONIC WARFARE SYSTEM
The Krasukha is mobile and powerful electronic warfare system laden on an 8×8 Baz truck. The deadly Krasukha-2/4 can jam enemy drones, AWACS, fighter jets, missiles, reconnaissance aircraft and satellites and strike chaos into the enemy command, control and communications centre.
8. ‘ADMIRAL GORSHKOV’ CLASS FRIGATE
After the demise of Soviet Navy in 1991, the Admiral Gorshkov is probably one of the most impressive classes of guided missile frigates. The beast is an epitome of the best of what Russian weapon and sensor industry can produce. The body is constructed out of carbon fibre helping it become extremely stealthy with a small radar cross-section.
It also has a towed embarked Ka-27 ASW helicopter on board, along with the following weaponry which can target any enemy on land, sea and air.
- 1 × 130mm A-192M gun
- 2 × 8 UKSK VLS cells for P-800 Oniks (300-500 km range)
- 4 × 8 Redut VLS cells for 9M96E series (40-120 km range)
- 2 × Palash CIWS
- 2 x 4 330mm torpedo tubes for Paket-NK anti-torpedo/anti-submarine torpedoes
- 2 × 14.5mm machine guns
7. ARMATA COMBAT VEHICLE FAMILY
The Armata forms the backbone of the Russian army armoured divisions as the country looks to retire the ageing Soviet-era hardware. This is a project, up till now, consists of three models, namely, T-14 Main Battle Tank (MBT), T-15 Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) and the T-15 Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV).
Pic Credits: defencyclopedia
The T-14 Main Battle Tank (MBT) is feared for its 125 mm main gun and a 7.62 mm secondary gun, built to be a safe heaven for its 3-man crew.
Pic Credits: defencyclopedia
The T-15 Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) has a 30 mm cannon, 7.72 mm co-axial machine gun and 4 Kornet anti-tank missiles, making it a mean killing machine.
And finally, the 2S35 Koalitsiya 152 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer (SPH) has an unmanned turret for its 152 mm gun, with an auto-loader system enabling a high fire rate and its 152 mm shells ranging from 30 km.
6. KIROV CLASS BATTLECRUISER
The Kirov class has been specifically designed to be capable of sinking the US Navy carriers using its long-range cruise missiles. But it is more dangerous than that, as it is the only surface combatant that is also nuclear-powered meaning it has an unlimited range of attack.
Its 20 Granit anti-ship missiles have a 700+ km range with the capacity to carry a 750 kg warhead. The ship is also fitted with 96 SA-N-6 Surface to Air missiles, ranging from 100 km area air defence.
5. ONYX ANTI-SHIP CRUISE MISSILE
The ONYX is also known as Yakhont or BrahMos and is at the forefront of the Russian anti-ship missile defence. The missile can be launched from ships, submarines, aircraft and even trucks, thus making it a very deadly and dangerous weapon.
The missile is powered by a ramjet, meaning it can load and launch even a 300 kg semi-armour piercing warhead. The missile can travel at a speed of around Mach 2.5-3, making it a headache to be tracked and brought down.
4. SU-30 FAMILY (SU-30/34/35)
This master of the skies was built to counter the F-15 and now is acclaimed to be the most powerful fighter aircraft in the world. It looks to form the backbone of the Russian Air Force, with their exceptionally long range and large payload. The fighter is currently active in Syria, and countries like India and China are very fond of these.
Pic Credits: defencyclopedia
3. TU-22M ‘BLACMARY.’
This is one of the rare long-range strategic bombers. TU 22M is a swing-wing, supersonic bomber developed during the Cold War and is a perfect choice for long distance strikes and maritime strike mission. It is known as a carrier-killer and is famous for its usage of long-range Kh-22 supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles to sink the US Navy’s aircraft carriers in the cold war.
The plane can travel at Mach 2 speeds, and with a range of over 12,300 km a 40,000 kg payload, it is a formidable platform.
2. YASEN CLASS SSN/SSGN
The Yasen class is a direct opponent to the latest American submarines. It weighs around 13,800 tonnes and is probably one of the most heavily armed submarines in the world. It entails a whopping 32 vertically launched cruise missiles along with 38 torpedoes.
And for the size of this machine, it is so well automated that it only requires 90 men to be operated.
1. S-400 AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM
This is a successor to the S300 air defence system, laden with a host of radars and surface to air missiles, which makes it a formidable air defence system, which can track, detect and engage even the stealth fighters and bombers.
The system has four types of SAMs, with each launch truck employing four launch tubes. The missiles being used are in use are
- 9M96E – Range of 40 km. 4 missiles per tube.
- 9M96E2 – Range of 120 km. 4 missiles per tube.
- 48N6DM – Range of 250+ km. 1 missile per tube.
- 40N6- Range of 400 km. 1 missiles per tube.
Pic Credits: defencyclopedia
The missile firing unit also consists of 8-12 launchers, each with four missiles, taking the total to32-48 missiles per battery. The following are some of the radars and auxiliaries added on the platform:
- 92N6 ‘Grave Stone’ target engagement and missile fire control radar (S-band)
- LEMZ 96L6-1 acquisition radar (L-band)
- 91N6E ‘Big Bird’ acquisition and Battle Management Radar
- Command and control post
- Missile Transporter
- Missile transloader
- Other radars can be integrated depending on requirement
Which one, in your opinion, is the most impressive military machine of them all? Comment below!