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Footage has emerged exhibiting the current destruction of a Russian S-300 or S-400 air protection system by a U.S.-made Military Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), a short-range ballistic missile that Ukraine has utilized in a string of high-profile strikes since its introduction final yr. The video is maybe essentially the most dramatic demonstration to date of Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to nullify the risk posed by these long-range air protection methods, which threaten Ukrainian plane and standoff weapon operations over a radius of as much as 250 miles, relying on the variant.
https://www.twitter.com/clashreport/status/1793893686998180059
The assault appears to have taken place exterior the airfield of Mospino, within the Russian-occupied Donetsk area of japanese Ukraine, round 30 miles from the entrance strains. Ukrainian studies recommend that the strike occurred on Might 22, at round 12:50 native time. In response to unconfirmed studies, the Russian air protection system had solely been deployed to this location a day earlier than the strike.
https://www.twitter.com/clashreport/status/1793911562157412444 https://www.twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1793898184692928665
The video, taken from a Ukrainian drone working within the neighborhood, particulars the ultimate moments of the S-300/S-400 system earlier than it got here underneath assault. Whereas the drone is clearly surveilling the goal space, and recording the outcomes of the strike, it was not essentially accountable for buying the goal. The Russian air protection website could nicely have been positioned by satellite tv for pc, and even by its personal radar emissions, through digital help measures (ESM), one thing which the US may additionally help with.
Whereas apparently unaware of the drone close by, the Russian air protection system has actually been alerted to the incoming ATACMS. No less than one Ukrainian supply claims that 5 ATACMS missiles had been employed, however an assault involving a single missile can be a risk.
Nevertheless, when it comes to returning hearth, not less than six missiles are seen being fired by the S-300/S-400, in a last-ditch effort to guard it, and surrounding property, from the incoming ATACMS. The final air protection missile is fired by the S-300/S-400 solely seconds earlier than the ATACMS impacts.
As soon as the incoming missile arrives, we see the telltale detonation over a large space of submunitions from the cluster warhead. This quickly ends in secondary explosions from the air protection system’s personal missiles — people who weren’t already expended.
As we now have defined up to now, the model of ATACMS fitted with a cluster warhead — filled with M74 submunitions — is very nicely suited to focusing on air protection methods, in addition to plane within the open, automobile swimming pools, ammunition dumps, and extra.
Imagery had beforehand come to gentle exhibiting the aftermath of the assault on Mospino.
Based mostly on evaluation of these earlier pictures and video, the assault knocked out a pair of 5P85 sequence transporter-erector-launchers (TELs), plus a 96L6 radar and a command put up which can be additionally related to the S-300/S-400 methods. One other TEL seems to have been broken within the raid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2PpGGNfMEku0026t=2s https://www.twitter.com/clashreport/status/1793631578230263930 https://www.twitter.com/WarVehicle/status/1793631348181373129
For Ukraine, ATACMS is turning into an more and more widespread weapon to deal with Russian long-range air protection methods — each the older S-300 and the extra superior S-400.
Earlier this month, TWZ reported on the ATACMS strikes launched in opposition to the air base at Belbek in Russian-occupied Crimea. In addition to destroying and/or damaging Russian fight plane on the bottom, these earlier assaults additionally efficiently knocked out parts of an S-300/S-400 air protection system there.
Specifically, it appeared {that a} 92N6 (Grave Stone) radar — the first long-range detection radar related to the S-400 — was hit.
Russian ground-based air defenses have extracted a toll on the dwindling variety of property out there to the Ukrainian Air Power in addition to its Military Aviation. Suppression and destruction of those surface-to-air missiles stays a precedence for the Ukrainians. On the identical time, the arrival of longer-ranged weapons, like Storm Shadow and long-range one-way assault drones, in Ukrainian palms, have opened up an entire new set of targets at higher distances past the entrance strains. Guaranteeing these weapons survive to hit their targets is essential. Thus opening up holes in Russia’s air protection overlay has been an absolute prime precedence.
On the identical time, Russian has been utilizing the very same set of ways, during which Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles are used for time-sensitive assaults on Ukrainian air defenses.
https://www.twitter.com/Archer83Able/status/1766460798581231953
The most recent incident raises some issues from a Russian perspective, not least the obvious incapacity of a number of missiles launched by an S-300/S-400 system to efficiently defend in opposition to an ATACMS assault, though it must be recalled that these surface-to-air missile methods are primarily meant to cope with plane targets, with solely a restricted anti-ballistic missile functionality.
Maybe much more regarding is the truth that Ukraine was in a position to function a drone over the air protection system lengthy sufficient to seize the video and relay it again — not the primary time that this has occurred. A big static air protection website like this could have point-defense methods to guard it from close-in threats like this, however that always is not the case as a consequence of how stretched air protection assets are. The continued depletion of superior Russian air protection property is actually a difficulty that has led to essential gaps in air defenses, particularly of essential targets deep inside Russia. This is a matter that’s exacerbated by Western sanctions that scale back Russia’s means to fabricate high-technology weapons at scale.
With the counter-air protection battle now in full swing, with ballistic missiles taking heart stage because the weapon of selection, we should always see these operations solely improve. For Ukraine, the most important limiting issue to those operations might be the variety of ATACMS Ukraine will get and the way Russia decides to reposition its air defenses in response to assaults. With F-16s coming into the conflict quickly, opening up holes in Russia’s most superior air defenses could not come at a extra opportune time.
Contact the writer: thomas@thewarzone.com
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