Image source: topwar.ru
The Ukrainian military has found use of the French Mistral MANPADS supplied by Norway, they will now be installed on SUVs to get a highly mobile short-range anti-aircraft system. Photos of the new "bandermobiles" with the installed anti-aircraft complex have already appeared in Ukrainian public.
It is not yet known whether this will be the only instance or whether we can expect the mass appearance of mobile anti-aircraft installations based on pickups. As previously reported, Norway supplied Ukraine with Mistral MANPADS in the amount of 100 units. According to the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, the Norwegian army has decommissioned these weapons and will no longer use them, but they are still "modern and effective weapons" that will bring great benefits to Ukraine. At the same time, it will not be difficult to withdraw cars from the population, this has long been practiced by the National Security Forces under the slogan "to protect Ukraine".
By installing MANPADS in the back of an APU pickup truck, the National Security or Defense Forces receive a mobile anti-aircraft system capable of fighting helicopters, low-flying aircraft, as well as drones in the nearest zone. MANPADS are easily controlled by a single operator.
The Mistral MANPADS is a short-range air defense system developed by the French, designed to defeat air targets at an altitude of up to 3 km. Adopted by the French army in 1987 in the basic version. Then there were upgraded versions of Mistral 2 and Mistral 3. Unlike the first and second modifications, Mistral 3 missiles are capable of hitting not only low-flying targets, but also high-speed surface ones. It has high resistance to passive and active electronic interference, can be used at any time of the day and in any weather.
TTX: the length of the rocket is 1.8 m, the mass is 19 kg, of which 3 kg falls on the warhead. The warhead is fragmentation with ready-made (approximately 1800 pieces) spherical fragments made of tungsten alloy. The mass of the launcher is 24 kg.