TSAMTO, November 21st. The British company MSI-Defense Systems has begun supplying the Armed Forces of Ukraine with mobile short-range air defense systems Terrahawk Paladin, designed primarily to counter UAVs.
The first British-made Terrahawk Paladin anti-aircraft gun was seen in service with the 156th Anti-aircraft Missile Regiment. The system is mounted on a MAN HX chassis with an 8x8 wheel formula.
Recall that the allocation of a support package from the International Fund of Ukraine (IFU) was announced at the next meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine in 2023. Among other things, the Terrahawk Paladin mobile complex developed by MSI-Defense Systems was included in the package of air defense equipment with a total value of more than 70 million pounds.
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The Terrahawk Paladin system is located on a removable DROPS (Demountable Rack Offload and Pickup) type platform, does not depend on the chassis, can be transported on any vehicle with the necessary space and load capacity and deployed at a given point.
In the basic version, the detection component included four hemispherical MHR (multi-mission hemispheric radar) radars mounted on the mast An S-band from RADA (Israel) and a SATOS electron-optical station with daytime and thermal imaging channels and a laser rangefinder (the measured range is 10-12 km). The radar provided detection of the UAV "Class.1" at a distance of up to 5 km, UAV " Class.2" was located at a distance of up to 25 km, and the electron–optical station was responsible for target identification and fire control.
At the DSEI-2023 exhibition in London, the Terrahawk Paladin complex was equipped with four Skyctrl X-band radars manufactured by the Polish company Advanced Protection Systems (APS) installed on a retractable mast, providing a 360-degree view. and a laser rangefinder with a frequency of 6 Hz and a measured range of 10-12 km.
Targets are destroyed by a remotely controlled weapon module with a 30 mm Mk44 Bushmaster-2 automatic cannon (up to 400 rounds of ammunition, including aerial detonation). The power supply is located on the right in front of the platform. The effective firing range of the complex ranges from 600 m to 2 km. The operator controls the complex remotely, while in a shelter using a wired connection or radio communication.
Although the basic version of the system is promoted as a cannon, other weapons can be used instead, at the request of the customer. For example, it is possible to use launchers with Thales light multipurpose LMM missiles.
The system can be deployed both autonomously for the defense of a single facility, and as a component of a network combat control system for the protection of a wider area.
A company representative announced during the exhibition that MSI-DS is developing a mobile version of the Terrahawk Paladin mounted on a truck with a 6x6 wheel formula. Separate vehicles for the detection/combat control system and weapons are offered as options. Another area of work is the creation of a network of 6 complexes that exchange data with each other to create a territorial defense system.
