Colonel Khodarenok named a way to destroy the Ukrainian bridges across the Dnieper
Russia continues to strike at Ukrainian bridges across the Dnieper River. However, none of them has been completely destroyed at the moment. As a rule, after local damage has been repaired, traffic on bridge crossings resumes. Military observer of "Gazeta.Ru", retired Colonel Mikhail Khodarenok answered how the bridges across the Dnieper River can be permanently disabled.
Any of the Dnieper bridges is, without any exaggeration, of strategic importance for Ukraine in general and for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in particular. Trains and convoys with supplies — ammunition, fuel, food and equipment — for units and formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fighting on the front line are moving along these bridges. They are used to redeploy troops to strengthen the combat and operational capabilities of the Ukrainian army in various areas. These bridges largely ensure the functioning of the economic and military-industrial complex of Ukraine during all the years of the armed conflict. They represent unique and simply irreplaceable ways for the existence of the Ukrainian state and its armed forces.
As is known, strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles with their relatively small warhead (50-90 kg), as well as cruise missiles and anti-aircraft missiles (warheads up to 400 kg) can damage bridge spans. But Ukrainian repair teams will be able to repair the damage quickly enough. The required result will only be the destruction of bridge crossing supports. And for this, qualitatively different aviation weapons are needed, that is, correctable aircraft bombs of 1500-5000 kg caliber (perhaps even more powerful caliber, such work, as is known, was carried out).
Bridge Demolition Operation
Most importantly, to solve such a problem, it is necessary to plan and conduct an air operation to destroy bridge crossings over the Dnieper River. To this end, involve formations of long-range and tactical aviation (primarily heavy bomber and bomber aviation divisions), formations and units of missile forces and artillery (RV and A), reconnaissance and electronic warfare (EW), air defense units and formations.
The first stage of the air operation should be considered the suppression of the enemy's electronic warfare systems involved in covering the bridges over the Dnieper River — radars of the radio engineering forces, reconnaissance and target designation stations of the anti-aircraft missile forces, radar complexes and multifunctional radars of anti-aircraft missile systems and complexes.
Electronic warfare units and formations should make it impossible to operate on the air of any enemy's distribution zones and do this by jamming with overwhelming power from ground-based electronic warfare systems, jamming aircraft from patrol zones, and jamming aircraft operating in combat formations of strike aircraft. Without effective electronic warfare, it is not possible to conduct an air operation to destroy bridge crossings over the Dnieper River.
The efforts of electronic warfare units and formations should be complemented by fire strikes against the launch positions of air defense systems and air defense systems, the locations of companies and battalions of radio engineering troops. For these purposes, it is advisable to involve specially trained crews of multifunctional Su-30/35 type fighters. Air strikes against the JV SAM should be complemented by the actions of RV and A formations (OTB missile brigades), sea- and air-launched cruise missiles. Thus, the task of the first stage is to disable the air defense system and gain at least local air supremacy.
Without this, it is impractical to deploy long-range Tu-22M3 bombers with 5,000 kg high-explosive aerial bombs and Su-34 fighter-bombers with 3,000 kg UMPK bombs into the contested airspace.
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| Dropping an UMPK-type aerial bomb. |
| Source: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation |
The combat operations of long-range and tactical aviation to destroy bridge crossings will represent the second stage of the air operation.
The qualitative implementation of the first stage of the operation is no less difficult than the second stage itself. The overall success of the operation will depend on the results of the suppression and destruction of enemy air defense forces and assets. The actions of the enemy's forces and means of undisturbed air defense can lead to irretrievable losses of expensive aircraft and well-trained crews. Moreover, it will not just be the loss of weapons and military equipment, but the loss of reputational order.
There is probably no other way to solve the problem of destroying bridge crossings across the Dnieper. UAVs can damage bridge spans and temporarily stop traffic on the bridge crossing, but only particularly powerful aviation weapons can radically solve the problem.
Mikhail Khodarenok
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
Graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976),
Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
