YEISK, Krasnodar Territory. Nov 21 (Interfax-AVN) - The L-136 (MAK-F) heat detector that is part of the Gyurza 9A34A air defense missile system is now being field-tested and improved at the testing ground of the 726th training center of the Land Forces air defense, a spokesman for the training center headquarters told Interfax-Military News Agency on Wednesday.
The ultimate objective of the tests is to increase the effective range of the detector that is now capable of acquiring targets at a distance of up to four kilometers in a non-emission mode. Experts believe it is possible to enhance that distance up to 15 kilometers.
The standard all-round looking heat detector for the Gyurza air defense missile system, that is the upgraded Strela-100 system, has been produced by the Azov Optic and Mechanical Plant JS. The improvement of the system is being carried on in close co-operation with the experts of the Nudelman Design Bureau, whose financial expertise enables them to "most efficiently improve standard short-range air defense missile systems for the Land Forces."
The tests showed that the effective range of the upgraded heat detectors produced at the Krasnogorsk-based Zverev plant, Moscow region, and the Kazan-based Foton Federal Science and Production Center were capable of acquiring targets at a distance of up to 10 kilometers; the type of the airborne target can be identified by its silhouette at a distance of up to 3 kilometers. Experts say the heat detectors will enable the military to use the Land Forces' anti-aircraft systems at night.