Troops on the front line will be equipped with short-range anti-aircraft systems
The Russian assault units will include anti-aircraft systems "Tor" and "Gibka", sources told Izvestia in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Their task will be to cover the fighters at the moment of taking enemy strongholds. During an attack, it is critically important to shoot down attack drones and rockets in time, experts say. Ultimately, the innovation should make the assault actions more effective.
Cover forces
As part of the assault units of the Russian army, the formation of air defense units has begun, sources in the military department told Izvestia. They will be armed with the Tor and Gibka complexes. The anti-aircraft gunners will act in direct contact with the attack aircraft, destroy enemy drones and cover the attack aircraft from the fire of multiple rocket launchers (MLRS).
— When there is an assault on a fortified area, the enemy can use various means to disrupt it, — explained military expert Alexei Leonkov. — These may be means of air attack, in particular an FPV drone. It's clear that you can't really shoot at such targets from MANPADS, it has its limitations. But working with complexes that track many targets, there are guarantees that you will have minimal or no losses from enemy attacks. The decision to supply the units with the "Tor" and "Flex" complexes is fully justified by the experience gained during its implementation.
Combat vehicle of the department of MANPADS "Gibka-S"
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Mikhail Voskresensky
Separate assault units are also an innovation dictated by the course of a special military operation. In the first weeks of fighting, Russian troops faced powerful Ukrainian fortifications. The situation in Donbass turned out to be especially difficult, where defensive lines — bunkers, fortified areas, underground structures — have been built since 2014. In addition, the troops faced another problem — to attack in the classic way, groups of armored vehicles with infantry support are fraught with heavy losses. Ukrainian formations have a lot of anti—tank weapons, and most importantly, attack drones.
Gradually, the troops switched to the tactics of relatively small assault groups, which are supported by armored vehicles and artillery fire. The most motivated and experienced fighters serve in these units. At first, assault groups in units were created out of state, but now the situation has changed. The military department decided to create specialized reconnaissance and assault brigades in the troops. They will include detachments designed to break into echelon defenses, as well as units capable of conducting reconnaissance at tactical depth. The brigades will receive tanks, light armored vehicles, artillery, and a wide range of drones. Their personnel will be trained to fight in confined spaces — trenches, buildings, pillboxes and bunkers.
— Assault detachments have already been tested by participation in other local conflicts, especially during the second Chechen campaign during the storming of Grozny. Then they acted with the support of armored vehicles," military expert Gennady Alekhine told Izvestia. — In the zone of a special military operation, we operate not only in the field, but also in agglomerations, for example, Avdiivka is both urban neighborhoods and an industrial zone. The same thing happened in Severodonetsk, Bakhmut, Lisichansk. And our servicemen have already gained new experience.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
According to the expert, in the future our troops will use assault groups to perform specific tasks. They will include snipers, grenade launchers, and sappers, and they will be supported by armored vehicles.
— These are BRDM, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and they can also use Tor. This is a short- and medium-range anti-aircraft missile system, they have shown themselves well in the area of their defense. "Gibka is a new complex, modernized, which will be delivered to the line of combat contact," he summed up.
The best of the near
The complexes that will be supplied to the attack aircraft are the most modern Russian developments in their class. The Tor-M2 is considered one of the most effective short-range air defense systems. It is designed to cover the first echelons of the ground forces from anti-radiation and cruise missiles, gliding bombs, airplanes, helicopters and various types of drones.
Anti-aircraft missile system "Tor"
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Alexey Maishev
The complex is mounted on an armored tracked chassis, which allows it to operate together with the combat formations of motorized infantry and tankers. Thanks to the vertical launch of missiles, it can reflect a raid from any direction. The modern modification of the complex is equipped with a 9M338K anti-aircraft missile with improved capabilities. The ammunition capacity of one installation is up to 16 rounds.
In the modern version, the "Thor" can shoot not only from short stops, but even on the move. This makes it an effective means of covering troops on the march.
The range of the Tora missiles exceeds 16 km, they can shoot down targets at altitudes from 10 m to 12 km, and detect them at a distance of up to 32 km.
"Tor" is regularly updated taking into account the experience of a special military operation. In February last year, Ilya Rykov, Deputy chief designer for the repair and modernization of the IEMZ Kupol, reported that thanks to the refinement, he could more effectively intercept the shells of the American HIMARS MLRS.
The Flexible-S air defense system has the advantages of self-propelled and portable systems. It is designed to control the air situation, cover units during combat operations, as well as to defend military, industrial and infrastructure facilities from air strikes. In addition, an armored vehicle carries a squad of anti-aircraft gunners with man-portable air defense missile systems (MANPADS).
The Gibka-S consists of a MANPADS squad combat vehicle and a MANPADS platoon commander reconnaissance and control vehicle. The combat vehicle is equipped with a launcher with mounts for Igla or Willow MANPADS and an optoelectronic system for target search and aiming. The design provides circular horizontal guidance and allows you to change the elevation angle of the missile containers. The ready-to-use ammunition consists of four missiles, and the same number are transported inside the car. Earlier, Izvestia reported that the "Flex" will be supplied to equip special purpose units.
Roman Kretsul
Julia Leonova