TULA. Jan 21 (Interfax-AVN) - The Tula-based instrument-building design bureau KBP (part of NPO Vysokotochniye Kompleksy, or High-Precision Systems), has started upgrading the Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile and artillery system, said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.
"The Russian defense industry is expected to present an upgraded Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile system, which will excel all of the current systems in the Pantsir family," Rogozin told reporters on Monday after a meeting in Tula on the activities of the Advanced Research Foundation.
The Tula-based KBP has a vast potential for developing short-range air defense systems, the foundations of which was laid when the company was headed by the legendary weapon designer Arkady Shipunov, he said.
"We watched Pantsir-S and Pantsir-S1 system in action today, but we are starting the development of a new system, Pantsir-SM, in the near future. The range will be far more great than it is now," Rogozin said.
Reports said earlier that the range of the Pantsir-S1 system will be increased from the current 20 kilometers to 40 kilometers.