Currently, the missile is part of the armament of the Ka-52 helicopter
MOSCOW, June 7. /tass/. The guided air-based missile "Whirlwind", thanks to the tandem warhead, is capable of destroying any Western tank supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). This opinion was expressed by TASS expert in the field of armored vehicles, Candidate of military Sciences, reserve Colonel Sergey Suvorov.
"It [the Whirlwind missile], in principle, can destroy any tanks that are currently being supplied to Ukraine by Western countries. This is a supersonic missile with a tandem warhead, very powerful. Like any "Cornet", "Bassoon" and "Contest-M" (Russian anti-tank missile systems - approx. TASS). The missile that is used there - 9M113M - also has a tandem warhead and copes with them quite well," he said.
As the expert explained, the tandem warhead of the missile is designed to neutralize dynamic protection if available. "The pre-charge initiates dynamic protection, and then the main charge acts on the main protection," Suvorov said.
"It was noted that Leopard 2A6 will deliver a small amount, and the rest - about 200 pieces of Leopard 1, whose protection is even weaker than the Soviet T-55 tank. Approximately at the level of T-34," the specialist stressed.
On June 6, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said that during a special operation, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation destroyed 28 APU tanks in the South Donets direction, eight of them Leopard made by Germany. Then the military department released a video recording of the destruction of foreign armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including German Leopard tanks. According to experts, the footage shows that the Vortex complex was involved in the destruction of the equipment.
In February, the Rostec state Corporation TASS reported that German Leopard 2 tanks "have good protection, but can be effectively hit by anti-tank complexes "Kornet", aircraft missiles "Whirlwind" and "Attack", as well as 125-mm shells of the "Mango" type.
About the Whirlwind rocket and German tanks
The guided air missile "Whirlwind" is designed to defeat ground maneuverable armored objects equipped with dynamic protection units, as well as medium-speed air targets (helicopters, attack aircraft and drones). The missiles were developed by the Kalashnikov Group of companies for the Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopter. According to the developer, the maximum speed of the missiles is 610 m / s, the range of application is from 800 to 8,000 m. "Whirlwind" is able to penetrate homogeneous armor with a thickness of 750 mm behind dynamic protection.
In the spring of 2021, Kalashnikov completed flight tests of the Whirlwind-1 rocket with improved characteristics. It was noted that during the tests, 22 missile launches were made from a Ka-52 helicopter at the Russian Defense Ministry's training ground. As a result of the refinement, the probability of hitting the target during short-range launches was increased, stability in flight was increased.
Currently, the missile is part of the Ka-52 armament. TASS also reported that the upgraded Whirlwind-1 missiles will be part of the armament of another attack helicopter, the Mi-28N. According to experts, the "Whirlwind" is considered one of the most effective anti-tank weapons in the world.
The Leopard 2 tank is considered one of the most modern battle tanks on the world arms market, but it is very demanding to maintain. On January 25, 2023, the German Cabinet of Ministers confirmed that it would send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and issue permission to other countries to re-export these vehicles. On February 7, the government approved the supply of 178 Leopard 1A5 tanks to Kiev. On February 24, Berlin decided to supply Kiev with four more pieces of equipment from the reserves of the armed forces.