"It is planned that, in the near future, a batch of Pantsir anti-aircraft missile and artillery systems in the latest modification - the Pantsir-SM - will be sent to the zone of the special military operation to strengthen the air defense system," the source said.
"Such systems will be able to hit drones and missiles launched by Ukrainian militants, including rockets of the American HIMARS MLRS [multiple rocket launcher], at a significantly greater range."
One Pantsir-SM system can be equipped with 48 mini-missiles, the source specified.
Russia plans to test the use of the Pantsir-SM system, equipped with mini-missiles, in the special operation zone "for the destruction of drones and self-propelled projectiles of multiple launch rocket systems of the ‘Grad’ type," the source told Sputnik.
Russia’s new Pantsir-SM air defense system has an increased target detection range of 75 kilometers (47 miles) and an engagement range of 40 kilometers. It can target drones at a greater distance than previous versions and has a new multifunctional target tracking and missile guidance radar.