Britain to provide Ukraine with MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin system that will effectively and cheaply shoot down Shahedis (photo)
The MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin was first introduced only a year ago and is an extremely effective answer to the question of how to take down Shaheds cheaply.
As part of a new military aid package worth 100 million pounds (about $123 million) from the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), the United Kingdom is sending additional weapons and air defense equipment to Ukraine. The list includes demining equipment, spare parts for repairing transferred weapons, and critical infrastructure protection equipment.
And the only specific weapon named is the MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin system from the British MSI. An undisclosed number of these systems, along with other unnamed air defense equipment, were ordered under a 70 million pound (about $86 million) contract.
The MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin system itself was publicly demonstrated only in September 2022, and in an updated version in September 23. It is a classic anti-drone solution that combines an automatic gun with a digital fire control system and a radar that detects targets in any conditions.
A certain difference of the complex is that it is made in the form of a platform that can be transported by truck or installed permanently.
The 30-mm Mk44 Busmaster II, which can use programmable fuzing ammunition, is used as a means of destroying targets. The developers declare that if they are used, the range of destruction of an air target is up to 2 km from 600-800 meters.
The SATOS optical sighting station developed by MSI, which has a thermal imager and a laser rangefinder, is responsible for the accuracy of fire. The fire control system supports auto-tracking of the target. The Terrahawk Paladin’s MSI-DS radar component includes four radars with AFAR, which allows for a simultaneous 360-degree view.
The system is controlled from remote consoles, and the photo demonstrates the ability to control the system by only two people, one of whom is responsible for inspecting targets and the other for destroying them.
The MSI-DS Terrahawk Paladin also includes the ability to integrate additional destruction means, such as semi-active laser-guided missiles such as APKWS.
Thus, this system, especially in combination with programmable munitions, is a fairly effective answer to the issue of economic destruction of such threats as Shahed-136 aircraft.
