A military expert assessed the equipment that the Pentagon supplies to the Armed Forces
CNN reported that Ukraine received "the first batch of weapons from the new package of military assistance from the United States." Earlier, American President Joe Biden announced his decision to provide military assistance to Kiev in the amount of $ 800 million. Military observer of the Newspaper.En" Mikhail Khodarenok was figuring out what would be included in the American aid package.
According to the published list, the United States will supply Kiev with 18 towed 155 mm howitzers and 40,000 rounds to them; 10 AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery radars; two AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel air target detection radars; 300 Switchblade barrage ammunition complexes; 500 Javelin anti-tank missile systems; thousands of "other anti-tank systems" (probably, this refers to the M72 LAW and M136 AT4 hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers); 200 M113 tracked armored personnel carriers; 100 HMMWV armored vehicles; 11 Mi-17 helicopters; unmanned coastal defense boats; 30,000 sets of body armor and protective helmets; more than 2,000 optical and laser rangefinders; M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel mines; C-4 explosives.
Of particular note are 200 M113 armored personnel carriers. This is a light armored personnel carrier for delivering infantry to the battlefield. It was adopted in 1960. The technique was widely used during the Vietnam War. At the same time, it is still formally in service with a number of countries, including the United States, although it is gradually being replaced by more modern machines.
The M11 is capable of carrying up to 11 fighters. Apparently, the APU receives this APC in the M113A3 variant.
In this modification, the armor protection and mobility of the combat vehicle were significantly improved, which provided the armored personnel carrier with circular protection from fire from 14.5 mm heavy machine guns, and in the frontal projection, the M113A3 armor withstands armor-piercing shells from 20 mm guns from a distance of 200 meters.
It is interesting to compare some of the tactical and technical characteristics of the M113A3 and the Russian MT-LB (light armored multipurpose transporter), which, according to official data, are equipped with two separate motorized rifle brigades of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (138th and 200th) taking part in a special military operation.
Weight: M113A3 - 14 tons, MT-LB - 12 tons.
Engine: M113A3 - diesel six-cylinder V-shaped liquid-cooled turbocharged General Motors 6V53T with a capacity of 275 hp, MT-LB -YAMZ-238 with a capacity of 240 hp.
Power reserve on the highway: M113A3 - 480 km, MT-LB - 500 km.
The maximum speed on the highway: M113A3 - 64 km/ h, MT-LB - 61.5 km/h.
Specific power (hp / t): M113A3 - 18.8, MT-LB - up to 24.7.
As you can see, both cars are comparable in most characteristics. The main disadvantage of the American M113A3 is often called weak booking. In the domestic expert community, it is believed that the M113A3 is highly vulnerable to 30-mm automatic guns BMP-2, BMD-2, BMP-3, BMD-4M and BTR-82A.
The next thing to pay attention to in the next American package of military assistance to Ukraine is 300 sets of Switchblade-type barrage ammunition. They have already arrived in Ukraine and the first cases of Switchblade combat use have already been noted. Barrage ammunition of this type is manufactured and delivered to Ukraine in two versions - 300 and 600 brands.
Switchblade 300 is an unmanned aerial vehicle with a length of about 600 mm and a weight of about 2.5 kg. In the bow there are day and night cameras for target search and guidance, as well as remote control devices. Behind them is a relatively small military unit. The flight of the UAV is carried out using an electric motor. The cruising speed of the device is 100 km / h, a short-term acceleration of the UAV up to 160 km / h is possible. Small-sized batteries allow you to stay in the air for no more than 15 minutes. The range of the Switchblade 300 reaches 10 km.
This munition is delivered in a compact transport and launch container. The product is ejected by compressed air.
The Switchblade 600 barrage ammunition is much larger. By increasing the take-off weight to 23 kg, it was possible to increase the warhead and improve the flight characteristics of the UAV. The cruising speed of the device is 110 km / h with the possibility of increasing it during a dive to 185 km / h. The range of the Switchblade 600 UAV reaches 40 km, and the flight duration is 40 minutes.
The Switchblade 600 UAV can be hit, for example, by the Tor-M2 SAM. However, in comparison with the UAV, the anti-aircraft guided missile "Tora" is much more expensive, which can lead to exhaustion of the air defense forces.
As for the delivery of 18 towed howitzers of 155 mm caliber and 40 thousand shots to them, at this stage the type of howitzer is not announced. According to some reports, this is most likely to be an M198 type gun from the presence of the US Army Ground Forces. 18 guns are just one artillery division of three-battery composition (six howitzers in each).
At one time, the M198 howitzer was designed to equip the Land and Airborne Troops of the US Armed Forces.
You should also take a closer look at the M18A1 Claymore mines included in the American aid package. This is an anti-personnel mine of directed destruction. Claymore is far from a new mine, it was developed back in the early 1950s. The M18A1 is mounted on four legs on the ground or can be attached to local objects (walls, poles, trees) using the included clamp. The mine is equipped with 700 steel balls. The radius of the affected area of the M18A1 Claymore is 100 meters, and the height reaches two meters.
Russian analogues of the M18A1 Claymore are anti-personnel fragmentation mines of the directed destruction type MON-50/100/200. In the MON-200, the number of ready-made striking elements reaches 900 units. The affected area of the MON-200: range - 220 m, height - up to 10 m. That is, these characteristics significantly exceed the TTX of the M18A1 Claymore mine.
Mikhail Khodarenok
