Loara

   The Loara self-propelled anti-aircraft gun was developed in Poland in late 1990s. Vehicle successfully passed trials in 2001. Polish Army ordered a small number of these SPAAG systems. Polish Army requirement is for 70 - 80 vehicles of this type. Deliveries are expected in near future.

   The Loara is fitted with two Oerlikon KDA 35-mm guns. Currently this gun is license produced in Poland. Rate of fire of each gun is 550 rounds per minute. Maximum range of fire against air targets is 4 km. The Loara SPAAG is also effective against light armored ground targets.

   The Loara is fitted with surveillance and tracking radars, laser rangefinder and radar based fire control system. The Loara is fitted with friend-or-foe identification system. Radar has a range of 26 km and can track and identify up to 64 targets at once. The radar can be operated on the move. The Loara has all-weather day/night capability and can operate in under heavy electronic counter measures. The system has short reaction time of less than 10 seconds.

   The Loara SPAAG is based on the Polish PT-91 main battle tank chassis, which is an improved variant of the Soviet T-72 MBT. Vehicle is fitted with the S-12U diesel engine, developing 850 horsepower.

Variants

   Loara-R surface-to-air missile system, fitted with Rbs.23 BAMSE of SAHV-3 missiles. This SAM system was developed to replace the ageing ZSU-23-4 Shilka and Strela-10 (SA-13 Gopher) in service with the Polish Army, however this project was cancelled.