Colonel Khodarenok told how to deal with HIMARS complexes with ATACMS missiles The possible delivery of ATACMS missiles to Kiev was reported by the American Defense News portal.
A little earlier, the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin told about this. Military observer of the Newspaper.En" Mikhail Khodarenok figured out what the danger of these missiles is and how the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation can resist them.
Data on the loading of containers with MGM-140 on military transport aircraft of the US Air Force was published by the Defense News portal. Prior to that, Denis Pushilin, the head of the Donetsk People's Republic, announced the deliveries. At the same time, neither the Pentagon nor the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation confirm the transfer of missiles to HIMARS to Ukraine.
MGM-140 ATACMS (Army TACtical Missile System) is a short-range ballistic missile that can be launched from both M142 HIMARS and M270 multiple launch rocket systems, which Ukraine received from Great Britain and Germany. ATACMS is developed by Lockheed Martin Corporation.
Modern variants of ATACMS have a firing range of up to 300 km. Thus, they can hit targets at a distance more than three to four times the range of guided missiles, which are equipped with the Ukrainian M142 and M270.
Currently, the US Armed Forces are equipped with ATACMS missiles of four types.
"The provision of the ATACMS system by the United States will allow Kiev to strike at key logistics and technical support nodes, other important targets that are beyond Ukraine's current capabilities for precision strikes. But there is a risk that the provision of new opportunities to Ukraine may increase the escalation," the Defense News portal notes.
At the same time, the portal clarified that the condition for sending ATACMS was allegedly "Kiev's obligation not to use missiles for strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation."
AFU officials claim that ATACMS missiles fly much faster than Russian anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMS) S-300 "Triumph" and S-400 "Favorit". Therefore, the Russian Armed Forces allegedly cannot shoot them down.
For "Triumph" and "Favorite", ATACMS are aerial objects characterized primarily by an effective reflecting surface (or an effective scattering surface). As an object of destruction, both HIMARS rockets and ATACMS-type missiles for the S-300 and S-400 do not represent anything special.
Now about the speed. The statements of experts from the APU that the rocket for HIMARS flies faster than an anti-aircraft missile, to put it mildly, are incorrect. The usual projectile for this MLRS flies at a speed of 700-800 m / sec, ATACMS - around 1500 m / sec. The speed of the S-300 type 5B55 anti-aircraft guided missile is almost 2000 m/sec. At S-400 - more than 2500 m/sec. The S-300 and S-400 missiles are faster than ATACMS.
At the same time, the range of the S-300 and S-400 is 250-350 km, which is comparable to the range of ATACMS.
The difficulties of fighting anti-aircraft missile systems with HIMARS missiles are completely different. HIMARS is a highly mobile system, and it is quite difficult to say (without accurate intelligence) where combat vehicles will be deployed at times in a particular place. That is, the highest requirements are put forward for intelligence in general and for the radar reconnaissance system in this case.
The anti-aircraft missile system must be turned on, the power supply must be carried out from regular means, the air defense system has been checked for functioning, a full combat crew must be in the workplace, illumination and guidance radars (multifunctional S-400 radars) must be deployed towards the firing positions of the HIMARS MLRS and work for radiation, anti-aircraft guided missiles must pass the necessary cycle preparation.
Systems should replace each other. This means that in key areas where there is a potential risk of ATACMS attacks, the number of S-300 and S-400 must be increased for effective and constant rotation.
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 the newspaper.
Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the 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 Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (1998).
Columnist of "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Military-Industrial Courier" (2010-2015).
Mail Khodarenok
