SAMARA. Jan 13 (Interfax-AVN) - The 297th air defense missile brigade of the Land Forces has been rearmed with the Buk- M1 missile systems that substituted for the Krug systems.
The three-month training for the new system was arranged at a Land Forces Air Defense training base near Orenburg, Colonel Sergei Kolchevsky, the brigade commander, told Interfax-Military News Agency Monday.
The training finished in a live-launch exercise at the Telemba training ground in the Siberian Military District.
"The Strizh maneuverable target missile was launched in adverse interference environment; nevertheless, all the six crews reported ready to engage the target," the commander said.
According to Kolchevsky, the target cruising at an altitude of 10,000m was hit by the first missile at a distance of 32km. The second one hit the remainders in the air, he said.
The Buk-M1 AD missile system is capable of countering army aviation, tactical, and strategic aircraft, as well as attack helicopters, cruise missiles, and UAVs.
The system is highly efficient against massive raids implemented by sophisticated aircraft supported by intensive jamming.
The Buk-M1 can fire simultaneously at six targets cruising at rates up to 830mps, up to 12 missiles can be guided at each.
The system has an all-azimuth capability. It comprises a command post, a target acquisition station, six self-propelled launchers, and three loader vehicles.
The Buk M1 developed in the Tikhomirov Instrument Making Research Institute entered the inventory in 1983.