The 9K331 Tor-M1 / SA-15 NATO reporting name: "Gauntlet" system, is a highly mobile rapid reaction SAM. The Tor M1 TELAR is a fully self contained package, with a search radar, a monopulse tracking and engagement radar, and a magazine of Automatic Command to Line Of Sight guided missiles.
Low flying aircraft, cruise missiles, standoff missiles and smart bombs are intended targets for the Tor. Russian thinking is that S-300PMU/S-400 battery elements such as radars and command posts are to be covered by Tor point defence systems, intended to engage and destroy guided munitions targeting the S-300PMU/S-400 battery elements.
The earliest Tor variants are carried on a GM-355 tracked chassis, with later tracked variants using the GM-5955 chassis. The E/F-band folding surveillance radar is carried on the top of the turret, and the G/H-band engagement phased-array-radar is mounted on the front. Eight vertically launched 9K331 SAM rounds are carried in sealed magazines, these are vertically ejected before ignition using the cold launch technique. Once clear of the TELAR, the canard missiles use nose rocket thrusters to pitch over in the direction of the target and effect the engagement. Reaction time to threats is credited in seconds between track confirmation and launch.
While in conceptual terms the Gauntlet compares well to the Franco-German Roland, the missile is more advanced and the TELAR far more capable than the Roland ever could be.
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