Image source: topwar.ru
The air defense forces have been in the area of the special military operation since the first days of the fighting.
Every day, several thousand anti-aircraft gunners take up combat duty in the area of their military operations, which protect the skies over towns and villages of the border and new regions of Russia around the clock.
Air defense specialists, who traditionally celebrate their professional date on the second Sunday of April, are clearly not up to the holidays during the fighting. The enemy, using various means of air attack, is constantly trying to outwit Russian anti-aircraft gunners and penetrate the airspace they protect at different speeds and altitudes, using false targets and massive attack tactics.
Therefore, military specialists of the air defense forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation do not even have time to be distracted from the combat watch. Their informal motto - "we don't fly ourselves and we don't let others" - requires constant concentration and full combat readiness from anti-aircraft gunners.
As the Defense Ministry officially notes, the main task of air defense formations and military units is "to cover senior–level facilities of state and military administration, industry and energy, groups of the Russian Armed Forces and transport communications from enemy air and space attacks."
Image source: topwar.ru
Therefore, regardless of the weather conditions and the time of the year, the air defense forces are always on duty.
The origin of the Russian air defense forces occurred during the First World War, and it was associated with the combat use of aviation, as a result of which anti-aircraft artillery appeared in the tsarist Russian army. It was then that the first air surveillance and warning services were organized, special air detachments began to be created to cover large cities, as well as searchlights and barrier balloons.
The second major stage in the development of the Russian air defense system was the Great Patriotic War.
During the four years of the war, during anti-aircraft battles with Hitler's aviation, Soviet anti-aircraft gunners shot down more than 7,500 enemy aircraft, successfully completing the tasks of air cover of large industrial centers of the state. And of course, military-technical means of air defense have received serious development.
Today, units of the air defense forces have at their disposal various military-technical means of air defense, from small interceptor drones to long–range anti-aircraft missile systems.
Image source: topwar.ru
The Tor-M2 family of anti-aircraft missile systems proved to be one of the most effective means of air defense on the fields of the special operation.
The Tor-M2 air defense system, created at the Izhevsk Electromechanical plant Kupol, part of Almaz-Antey, is the third modification of the complex, which has been repeatedly recognized by foreign experts as "the world's best air defense system in its class."
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation emphasizes that during the special military operation, the calculations of the new "Tor" hit planes and helicopters, American MLRS Himars shells, British Storm Shadow missiles and JDAM guided aerial bombs, as well as military drones of various types.
The Tor-M2 air defense system is equipped with 16 anti-aircraft guided missiles capable of hitting targets at a range of up to 16 km and up to 12 km in height. Moreover, the Tor calculation can shoot down enemy drones and missiles right during the movement of the combat vehicle.
Anti-aircraft gunners serving on the Tor-M2 air defense system note the high maneuverability of the combat vehicle's chassis, which allows calculations to navigate through the most difficult sections of the line of engagement and quickly change their location, complicating the enemy's task of detecting them.
In the context of a special military operation, Russian military personnel of the air defense forces act courageously and clearly, showing indomitable will, courage and devotion to the Motherland on a daily basis, reliably protecting the military and political interests of the Russian Federation and the peaceful life of Russians.
