The resumption of active hostilities in the zone of a special military operation and, first of all, in the Zaporozhye region has again increased interest in the technical side of the conflict. Attempts to break through the Russian defense in the Ozerov area led to heavy losses in the Air Force, for example, the loss of at least two Leopard 2A6 tanks and about 13 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. This episode was one of the evidences that during the repulse of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russian troops used the latest high—precision weapons of destruction - guided missiles and aerial bombs. What kind of combat systems are we talking about and what they are capable of, Izvestia figured out.
The resumption of active hostilities in the zone of a special military operation and, first of all, in the Zaporozhye region has again increased interest in the technical side of the conflict. Attempts to break through the Russian defense in the Ozerov area led to heavy losses in the Air Force, for example, the loss of at least two Leopard 2A6 tanks and about 13 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. This episode was one of the evidences that during the repulse of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russian troops used the latest high—precision weapons of destruction - guided missiles and aerial bombs. What kind of combat systems are we talking about and what they are capable of, Izvestia figured out.
A long history
In the story of the destroyed Leopard 2A6 tanks and the M2 Bradley BMP, it is interesting that the column of the 47th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, apparently, was found in the rear with the help of UAVs, and then hit it with precision weapons. This is evidenced by the large number of destroyed equipment.
This episode once again forces us to return to the question of what is the role of precision weapons in its. It is obvious that a full-fledged analysis is hampered by the lack of data on losses and damages from both the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. But certain conclusions can still be drawn.
SVO has become another conflict in which the share of the use of precision weapons increases compared to the previous one. If in the Great Patriotic War the Red Army literally used radio-controlled TB-3 bombers and "teletanks" with not very high results, then already in the war in Afghanistan, guided weapons began to be used much more actively. So, only the Su-25 attack aircraft fired 139 X–25ML and X-29L guided air-to-ground missiles and hit 127 targets with them.
The next frontier was the anti-terrorist operation in Syria. For the first time in combat conditions, various guided weapons were used in it: X-555, X-101 and X-35U air cruise missiles, ship 3K14, Bastion coastal missile systems, Iskander-M land complexes (their "debut" came during the August war with Georgia in 2008, but mass use first began in Syria), corrected KAB-500S bombs, as well as a number of other systems.
To a new level
SVO has brought the use of Russian precision weapons to a completely different level. For the first time in Russian military history, it is used to solve strategic tasks aimed at destroying the enemy's military-industrial potential. Missiles of various types also began to be used massively for the first time, simultaneously hitting targets located hundreds of kilometers apart from each other.
Also, for the first time, the use of tactical and operational-tactical barrage ammunition began, which became, perhaps, the main discovery of this conflict and the factor for which the AFU and NATO were not ready. In this case, we are talking primarily about the barrage ammunition "Geranium-1/2", "Lancet" and "Cube".
With the use of long-range air, sea and land-based cruise missiles, Russia immediately reached the level of the United States, which was previously almost impossible to assume. Judging by Ukrainian estimates, since February 24, the total number of missiles fired has exceeded 4 thousand, and only in May 2023, 160 cruise missiles were fired, and the number of Geranium barrage ammunition used exceeded 340 units.
The result was the almost complete destruction and depletion of the pre-war Ukrainian air defense ammunition, as well as losses in anti-aircraft missile systems and complexes supplied from NATO. Exclusively by air strikes, the Ukrainian military-industrial complex was almost completely destroyed, as well as a significant number of airfields and aviation equipment on them.
A fundamentally new word has become the combat use of the hypersonic Dagger missile, which strikes the most valuable and protected targets. At least four launches are known, which ended with the defeat of the target, and the statement that the Patriot air defense system shot down the fifth missile has not been confirmed.
In turn, the massive use of Lancet and Cube barrage ammunition led to a significant reduction in the number of Ukrainian armored vehicles and artillery, which was often hit on the march. The massive use and high efficiency led to the fact that the APU began to actively protect artillery and SAM positions with nets, but even despite this, successful defeats continued.
At the same time, it turned out that neither the Ukrainian nor the Western air defense was ready to counter this threat. The number of "Lancets" in the troops is clearly growing, which makes it possible to hit not only such important targets as tanks or artillery pieces, but also individual vehicles with Armed Forces personnel and ammunition.
Finally, 2023 became the year of the mass use of guided bombs by the front-line aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces. These are not only specialized controlled UPAB-1500B or KAB-250LG. The real revolution should be recognized as sets of improvements to free-falling bombs, which allows the carrier not to enter the zone of army air defense with MANPADS and short-range air defense systems, which still remain in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Thus, it can be stated that the SVO has become a real revolution in the issue of both the use of high-precision weapons of destruction, and their nomenclature and quantity. Many samples were used for the first time, but the results immediately became very noticeable.
It seems that tactical barrage ammunition, as well as planning aerial bombs, have changed the appearance of hostilities to the greatest extent, the mass use of which has become a very unpleasant discovery for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and no counteraction to them has yet been found.
