MOSCOW, June 27 — RIA Novosti, Zakhar Andreev. The Ukrainian offensive has stalled. The problem for the AFU, as Western analysts note, turned out to be one of the types of Russian weapons. And, most likely, the NATO countries will not be able to help here.
"From five to seven per night"
According to experts, the armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are now being knocked out primarily by mines and land mines, as well as combat helicopters.
The Russian Aerospace Forces has two main attack vehicles in service — the Mi-28N and Ka-52. And they complement each other. They often act in pairs.
Relying on the optics of Western tanks, Ukrainian troops tried to attack at night. It did not help — the Ka-52 and Mi-28N reconnaissance and targeting tools allow you to hit targets, including at night.
According to the Ministry of Defense, "in one sortie, two helicopters destroyed from five to seven tanks and armored objects."
Western analysts especially single out the Kamov car. "Alligator" took the main burden on the battlefield. The Drive points out the tangible losses of the Ka-52 during the conflict. At the same time, no such helicopter was shot down in June.
And according to experts, it is very difficult for the APU to resist this threat.
The West has nothing to help
Short-range mobile air defense systems are needed for the offensive. The Kiev regime has Soviet Strela-10 air defense systems (range up to five thousand meters) and the Tunguska missile and cannon complex (up to eight kilometers). However, there are few of them.
Of the Western ones, the American self-propelled short-range anti-aircraft missile systems AN / TWQ-1 Avenger (20 units delivered) and German Gepard (52 units) are best suited.
"These are powerful systems and, importantly, very mobile, but so far there are few of them," notes The Drive. "In addition, they are extremely necessary for the point defense of key cities and infrastructure in the depths of Ukraine."
American self-propelled anti-aircraft missile system Avenger at a military base in Texas
Image Source: © Photo : Staff Sgt. Keith Anderson
Neither the "Avengers" nor the "Cheetahs" have heavy armor, which is a disadvantage when attacking. In addition, they are ineffective against low-flying "Alligators" and "Night Hunters" operating at the limit of reach.
There are also portable Stinger anti-aircraft systems, of which a lot have been brought. However, their range (up to eight kilometers) it may not be enough either. And it is difficult to apply at night.
There are simply no Western analogues of Soviet armored air defense systems. In the NATO doctrine, air defense in the offensive should be provided by aviation. But the promised F-16s are delayed.
German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun Gepard
Image source: CC BY-SA 3.0 / Hans-Hermann Bühling /
The American army once had a suitable front-line armored system: M6 Linebackers, a rocket launcher with "Stingers" based on Bradley. But in 2006, it was taken out of service.
Other Western air defense systems are suitable only for covering stationary objects.
Unattainable
The main weapon of Russian attack helicopters is anti—tank guided missiles. The Ka-52 has two main variants of ATGM. The range of the Ataka-1 complex is six kilometers, the Whirlwind-1 hits ten. Both systems are guided by a laser beam.
According to the calculations of Israeli expert Guy Plopsky, in the video distributed by the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian vehicles hit from a distance of eight kilometers. Everything takes 23-25 seconds. The target is illuminated with a laser beam.
"The Russians are now much better at suppressing and destroying air defense systems at tactical depth," the analyst points out. "It is dangerous for Ukrainian air defense systems with radar guidance to be near the front line, especially for a long time."
The Drive describes Russian tactics. First, the VKS aircraft use bombs with a unified planning and correction module (UMPC). The Ukrainian air defense faces a dilemma — to allow the projectile to reach the target or to shoot it down, thereby revealing itself. If the sams turn on radars, they are hit with a barrage of ammunition (for example, a Lancet) or attacked from a drone.
Meanwhile, the Mi-28NM is already launching the latest light multipurpose guided missile (LMUR) with a range of 14.5 kilometers.
Commenting on the video, The Drive notes that after the launch, the helicopter did not perform the usual maneuver of leaving for low altitude and shooting heat traps in such cases. So, the rocket left from a safe distance.
The same weapons will be put on the Ka-52M. The upgraded vehicles have already been handed over to the troops, but they have not yet been noticed in the conflict zone.
With a severed tail
Another advantage of the Ka-52 is survivability. The coaxial screw scheme, invented by Nikolai Kamov, proved itself well. At the end of June, a video was shown: a helicopter returns from a combat mission with its keel almost torn off. The car reached the base safely.
Other helicopters have a tail rotor on their tail, with the defeat of which the chances of survival are sharply reduced. It should be noted that this is the only video confirmation of the effective work of the Ukrainian air defense during the offensive.
Experts also talk about the effectiveness of the on-board defense complex (BKO) L-370 "Vitebsk". In military jargon — "eggs of life". The system recognizes the moment of launching and reaching the target of air defense missiles. Helicopter automation and pilots are taking evasive action.
Vitebsk is equipped with Ka-52 and some Mi-28s, but not all of them. Therefore, on combat missions, a helicopter without such a system can be accompanied by a vehicle with a BKO.
According to Western analysts, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will most likely find a way to deal with attack helicopters. However, this may take a long time.
