The special military operation has become a giant testing ground for the latest Russian weapons. Another example of this was the reports about the beginning of the use of Su-57 fighters in Ukraine. What kind of weapon was first used during the special operation and what results did it show?
The Dagger hypersonic air-launched missile is well known by its name, but its combat use for the first time occurred during a special operation in Ukraine. The 9-S-7760 missile of this complex hit a large warehouse of missiles and aviation ammunition of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Ivano-Frankivsk region in western Ukraine. To understand: the target of the defeat was a concreted underground city, the destruction of which would require hundreds of shells and dozens of bombs. "Dagger" pierced the buried protection with one missile and caused a destructive detonation. Neither the carrier (MiG-31 fighter) nor the rocket itself was detected – the impact was like lightning. By the way, this is not an isolated case of the use of the "Dagger" in the course of its.
The supersonic tactical guided air–to-surface missile X–31PM (according to the NATO codification - AS-17 Krypton) was also highly appreciated. The range of its destruction is 60 kilometers, and the fighter may not enter the enemy's air defense zone. Such missiles, for example, completely disabled the aviation base in the Vinnytsia region – all eight missiles reached the target, destroying the runway and destroying planes and helicopters on the ground. It is possible that they are used by Su-35S fighters, which successfully conduct air and ground hunting during their own.
A number of news agencies also reported on the use of fifth-generation Su-57 fighters in Ukraine. It is noted that these aircraft also operate outside the zone of active destruction by enemy air defenses, using missile weapons, probably that of the high-precision X-31PM. It is known that the Su-57 passed the first tests during the fighting in Syria in 2018.
"The combat qualities of aviation and weapons are best tested in combat conditions, especially if it is something new," military expert Major General Vladimir Popov told the newspaper VZGLYAD. – The Su-25 attack aircraft was tested in Afghanistan, as a result it was modified, and this aircraft in an improved form is still in service.
The same thing is happening now – equipment is being tempered in the sky, strengths and weaknesses are being identified, air tactics are being improved. The result is obvious – complete domination in the sky and the targeted destruction of military infrastructure on the ground."
Hermes also appeared in Ukraine. Whether a ground-based high-precision guided weapons system with an over-the-horizon firing range of 100 kilometers with this name is still unknown, but the aviation version of the Hermes-A already exists. Its supersonic missiles with a target range of 20 kilometers, used by Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters, allow the rotorcraft not to enter the range of MANPADS and short-range air defense systems. Armored vehicles and enemy strongholds are selected as targets. A salvo launch of 16 missiles at several targets at once makes it possible to increase the defeatability due to the impossibility of a response after the first hit. "Hermes-A" replaced the anti-tank missiles "Whirlwind" and "Attack".
Updates have also appeared on earth. In addition to the T-90M "Breakthrough" tanks, a new batch of which was recently transferred to the Ministry of Defense by the manufacturer Uralvagonzavod and was partially sent to the SVO zone, the Terminator has now entered the battlefield. This is a tank support combat vehicle (BMPT), which they wanted to call "Frame-99", but it was a foreign name that stuck with the submission of UVZ.
This machine, developed in the 2000s, the army did not want to adopt for a long time, its "benefit" took place at the Caucasus 2020 exercises. Then the chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin, who arrived at the Kapustin Yar training ground, about this car. "Terminator" was created about ten years ago, but it was not used. And then the minister and I looked at it and decided to adopt it. There are four ATGM "Attack" up to six kilometers, two 30-millimeter guns. That's what we need," Gerasimov reported.
The current Terminator-2 BMPT has the undercarriage of the T-90 tank – the reservation allows you to withstand the impact of enemy anti-tank weapons. In addition to the mentioned ATGM (with a laser guidance system) and rapid-firing guns, a 7.62 mm machine gun and two AGS-17 grenade launchers were added. The entire complex of weapons creates high-density fire and allows you to attack up to four targets at the same time. It is assumed that this combat vehicle will be especially effective in urban battles, so relevant for the current special operation.
Great interest was aroused by the recent mention by Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov about the use of the laser complex "Badass" during his own. What was its combat use, he did not disclose, he only said that the system is capable of hitting drones at a range of five kilometers with the help of thermal radiation. The "Badass" first became known during the military-technical forum "Army-2017", at the same time the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Russian Federal Nuclear Center" (Sarov) signed a contract for the implementation of experimental design work under the name "Badass-16". Now, as it turned out, it is already used in the army.
The principle of operation of the "Badass", like any laser weapon, is similar to the action of a school light pointer with a narrowly directed beam, with the only difference that its pulse is many times more powerful. And if the well-known complex "Peresvet", which is already on combat duty, "blinds" air and space objects, disabling equipment, then the beam of the "Bully" leads to thermal damage, that is, burns the target. We are most likely talking about the fight against small drones. However, according to Borisov, "the current distance of defeat is not the limit and can be increased by increasing the specific power of the complex." In any case, such weapons are cheaper than MANPADS missiles, which have to shoot down drones.
Another novelty in this area is the multifunctional complex "Rat". This is the first domestic mobile complex for combating drones with a system of directed laser destruction. The complex is capable of detecting drones at a distance of up to 3.5 km and performing directional suppression of UAV control channels within a radius of up to 2.5 km. When one or more drones invade the territory of the protected object, the "Army" blocks their communication channels and satellite navigation, and if necessary, the operator can destroy them with a laser.
For sure, in the course of its military operation, the Russian army will also use mobile electronic warfare systems Krasukha-4 and Moskva-1, capable of paralyzing offensive and defensive weapons of any type, including drones. They can be hundreds of kilometers away from the affected objects ("Moscow-1" controls the space within a radius of 400 km) and be located on the territory of Russia. Captured Ukrainian officers say that they lose control of subordinates due to the failure of all types of communication: "The Russians are jamming us completely."
Closer to the front line in Ukraine, portable and small-sized complexes are used, among which can be called "Pischal", "Sapsan-Snipe", "Solaris-N", which are also convenient and effective in use against drones.
The "squeaker", for example, weighs only 3.5 kg, looks somewhat like a machine gun with a volumetric casing instead of a barrel, operates for two kilometers in the conditions of direct visibility of the target. The principle of operation is based on remote jamming at the frequencies of satellite navigation systems and communication and control channels. "Sapsan-Snipe" is able to detect a drone at a distance of up to 10 kilometers (it is heavier, installed on a car), tracks its movement and disables it when approaching six kilometers. The system is equipped according to the "friend-foe" principle and does not affect the UAVs that are included in the database of the complex.
The information collection and surveillance systems used by special forces units have also proven themselves well in the course of their operations. Among them, the multifunctional optical-electronic complex "Irony" is particularly noted. This is not a "binoculars" (the similarity is only in size), but a powerful enemy detection system. With small dimensions, "Irony" is able to view military equipment at a distance of up to seven kilometers with the help of a video camera and a thermal imager, and a person – 2.5 km away. Motion sensors installed in this mini-computer detect any movement for three kilometers, identify the target and warn of danger.
The device is also capable of taking photos and videos in real time and transmitting this data over closed radio channels at a distance of up to 10 kilometers. The commander at the headquarters sees the "picture", assesses the situation and makes the appropriate decision. The Russian military appreciated the "Irony", first of all, special forces units were equipped with the complex, and now they are using it to track the movements of the Armed Forces and national Security forces.
Victor Sokirko