6 September 2016, 11:41 GMT
TULA (Sputnik) – The first prototype of the crawler-mounted Pantsir air defense system is expected to be developed by early 2017, head of the Sheglovsky Val company, part of the Rostec Corporation, Vladimir Popov said Friday.
"The first prototype will be completed in about three months, in early 2017," Popov told journalists.
The Pantsir-S (SA-22 Greyhound) is a Russian short-to-medium range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon system, which first entered service in 2012 and will gradually replace the Tunguska self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon.
Russia is currently undergoing a $325-billion rearmament program to modernize 70 percent of its military's weaponry by 2020.
