Lieutenant Colonel of the People's Militia, deputy of the Parliament of the Republic Andrei Bayevsky noted that there is no question of the defeat of air defense systemsDONETSK, October 30.
/tass/. The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) use AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles in the Donbass haphazardly, they are aimed at random objects. This was reported to TASS by Lieutenant Colonel of the People's Militia, deputy of the Parliament of the Donetsk People's Republic Andrei Bayevsky.
He noted that this missile was originally designed to defeat radar air defense systems. "The homing head mounted on this missile is guided by radar radiation and thereby allows you to disable the most important systems of the integrated air defense system. The beginning of deliveries by the West of this system shows, first of all, that our air defense system is built very effectively and does not allow the use of the remnants of the Ukrainian Air Force," he explained.
At the same time, according to Bayevsky, the real experience of using the APU missile differs from what was conceived.
"It is very difficult to call its application successful. Known cases of use show that the VFU (armed formations of Ukraine - approx. TASS) use it as a conventional missile with a long range - up to 150 km - and a sufficiently powerful 66 kg warhead. The launch is carried out from the maximum possible range in the direction of a large settlement in the hope that the homing head will capture something on approach. Naturally, there is no question of any defeat of air defense systems, it is directed completely arbitrarily at a random source of radio emission, which in a modern city can be anything at all: from a cell tower to a radio station in the cab of a trucker," he said.
Bayevsky noted that this could explain the hit of missiles of this type into civilian objects. "As a result, we observe, for example, the explosion of AGM-88 HARM in the area of an apartment building on Bogdan Khmelnitsky Avenue [in Donetsk], where a priori there can be no air defense radars, there is a completely unsuitable place for radars," he said.
Bayevsky said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine, using AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles in the Donbass, simply report to suppliers, other grounds for their use are doubtful.
"The missiles were delivered as part of the next budget tranche, this is just a way to use the allocated funds. On the other hand, Kiev should declare that it has received the most modern weapons. At the same time, the VFU cannot provide either proper input control, proper maintenance, or suitable conditions for use - that is, no elements that ensure at least some successful use of these missiles. But from the point of view of information and from the point of view of reporting for the allocated funding, they are obliged to apply it to show: we have been given, we are applying, let's have more," he said.
The lieutenant colonel of the People's Militia added that missiles of this type were adopted in the United States in 1983 and are used by the APU using aircraft not originally intended for their launch, without upgrading and adjusting the homing head. As a result, such missiles do not and cannot perform their direct function, and from the point of view of the result of their use, they do not differ in any way from conventional unguided missiles fired from MLRS during the shelling of residential quarters of Donbass settlements.
