Russia's 'Critical' SA-15 Tor Defense Systems Face Key Limitation: UK

Russia's SA-15 air-defense system is a "critical" asset for Moscow's troops in Ukraine, but keeping the system working on the front lines is an "extreme test of endurance" for its crew, according to a new assessment.

The Kremlin's SA-15 system is "playing a critical and largely effective role" in Ukraine, the U.K. Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

But "one of the key limitations of the system in the current war is likely the endurance of its crew," the British government added in an intelligence update posted to social media. With three people assigned to each system, keeping each SA-15 alert and ready for long periods of time is "highly likely proving an extreme test of endurance," the U.K. said.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

The SA-15 Tor, also known as "Gauntlet," is one of Russia's main air-defenses deployed in Ukraine. It is a mobile, surface-to-air system which has a maximum range of just under 10 miles. It comes in several variants, and has been one of Ukraine's main military targets throughout the war. Kyiv's forces have previously shared footage of Tor systems being destroyed in combat operations, including ones which were targeted by drones.

The Gauntlet is designed to take down enemy aircraft, drones, guided missiles and other precision munitions at medium to low altitudes. Russia is currently using it mostly to take down Ukrainian uncrewed vehicles, the U.K. said on Sunday, adding the SA-15 is protecting Russia's front line of ground troops.

The first Tor system entered development in the 1980s, and debuted in 1986, according to the U.S. think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Tor-M, the first upgraded version of the original system, entered service in 1991, the think tank said. A later version, the Tor-M2, was designed to target incoming threats such as a large number of drones.

Moscow and Kyiv have both focused lately on air-defenses, and heading into the colder winter months, Ukraine warned it would need increased capabilities to fend off an upsurge in Russian air attacks.

"Here, in Ukraine, all attention should be focused on defense," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on November 12, reiterating the importance of the hardware to the country.

"I urged allies and partners to dig deep and donate whatever air-defense munitions they can, as Ukraine heads into another winter of war," U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin said in September.

Ukraine's military said on Sunday that its air defenses had intercepted 10 Shahed kamikaze drone strikes out of 12 uncrewed vehicles launched in "several waves" overnight.

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