Russia has reportedly lost a modern and rare Tor-M2DT surface-to-air missile system that was designed for use in the Arctic.
According to the Ukraine Weapons Tracker, Ukrainian forces have destroyed a Russian 9A331MDT Tor-M2DT air defense system on the battlefield in the Kherson region.
“The SAM system was destroyed by the 406th Artillery Brigade along with a DT-30 carrier using M982 Excalibur guided missiles,” the OSINT group said in a post on Twitter.
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Several news outlets reported that the Russian armed forces deployed the first Tor-M2DT air defense systems to Ukraine in early December.
The Tor-M2DT system is mounted on the chassis of the two-part articulated tracked vehicle DT-30PM-T1, manufactured by the Ishimbai Transport Machine-Building Plant (Ishimbaitransmash).
Russian state media claim that this air defense system can repel massive enemy airstrikes when the enemy makes extensive use of electronic countermeasures. The Arctic version of the Tor system was first released publicly in 2017. This system was adopted by the Russian military. The first batch of vehicles was delivered in 2018.
#Ukraine: The first confirmed destruction of an esoteric Russian air defense system – the 9A331MDT Tor-M2DT, intended for use in arctic environments.
The SAM system was destroyed by the 406th Artillery Brigade along with the DT-30 carrier using M982 Excalibur guided missiles. pic.twitter.com/JYItQ4yHBl
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracking (@UAWeapons) February 1, 2023
The Ukrainian military has already successfully destroyed the rare GAZ-3344-20 ‘Aleut’ vehicle and the DT-30 articulated tracked vehicle, which was originally designed to operate in the Arctic.