AFU Colonel: S-400 Triumph Is Useless Against Missiles Aimed At Russians
- 2.11.2023, 13:16
Ukraine created big trouble for occupiers.
Ukraine has already successfully used American ATACMS missiles several times.
What did these blows show? Charter97.org spoke with Ukrainian military analyst, reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Petro Chernik:
– ATACMS performed very well. At least, we have achieved the goal of destroying the Russian military aviation. The destruction of nine Ka-52s has already been confirmed. This is significant because the cost of one such helicopter is $16-20 million. By the way, there are not so many of them so far. Only about 170 were produced.
It has already been confirmed that more than fifty Ka-52s have been destroyed in Ukraine. This is truly a stupendous achievement.
I would also like to note that the Russian military aviation was very annoying to us, especially with the Vikhr anti-tank missiles on board (up to 10 km firing range), and also with S-8 and S-13 guided missiles.
Previously, a Russian helicopter flew from Berdiansk or Luhansk to the demarcation line for 15-20 minutes. Now a helicopter that will move from Taganrog (where they moved them) will take at least an hour, and maybe more. This is a big burden on the pilots and the helicopter itself. After all, since the times of the USSR, Russians have had problems with hardware: components and mechanisms. It will all get worn out.
We created a big headache for them, but to say that ATACMS is the weapon that turned the tide of the war is incorrect.
I really love historical parallels. During the US-Iraq War, the United States used more than 600 ATACMS missiles in 1.5 months. There were days when they shot from 20 to 100 of them. It is worth noting that the Iraqi army of that time (2003) was disproportionate to the Russian army.
Therefore, it is great that a step forward has been taken, but what is needed is not several dozen, as is declared, but several hundred, ideally a thousand. There are up to 4,000 ATACMS missiles of various modifications in American munition depots. I think that new supplies are waiting for us.
– What vulnerabilities of Russian defences can be disclosed with this type of missile?
– They have a weak air defence system. It’s really overrated. Their famous long-range systems, such as the S-300, S-350, and especially the S-400 Triumph, show their inability to counter such missiles. They are very good in a strategic sense.
Russia remains the world's second-largest seller and manufacturer of weapons. Now its buyers are: Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Egypt and others. However, it is worth buying weapons from the Russian Federation. After all, let’s say, the S-400 systems are valued on world markets at around $1 billion 200 million. That's a lot.
If they stop buying these weapons from Russia (and sooner or later they will), then gradually their technological development will degrade.
By the way, the first signs are already there. Egypt refused to buy Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets from Russia, and India refused to participate in the development of their newest Su-57 aircraft.
Of course, everything is moving in the right direction, but unfortunately, it will take time. We are not talking about months or even years.