Colonel Khodarenok: HIMARS and MRLS have become the most effective weapons of the West in the zone of its own
Since the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, the collective West has supplied the Armed Forces of Ukraine with its weapons, military and special equipment. Which of the NATO weapons turned out to be the most effective, how it affected the course of hostilities and whether the West has any other "miracle weapons" in stock - the military observer of the Newspaper figured out.En" Mikhail Khodarenok.
Unexpected HIMARS
The most effective examples of Western weapons and equipment transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine turned out to be the M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, highly mobile artillery missile system) and M270 MRLS (Multiple Launch Rocket System).
Despite the fact that the M142 HIMARS had been in service with the American army for more than 15 years by the time of delivery of the APU, the combat use of this system on the battlefields in Ukraine turned out to be largely unexpected for the Russian Armed Forces.
For some reason, we mistakenly believed that the M142 was a multiple launch rocket system (many still translate the abbreviation HIMARS), similar to our "Hurricanes" and "Tornadoes", and it would mainly use unguided projectiles of the M26 type.
American MLRS HIMARS
Image source: Bill Boecker/U.S. Army
In fact, the M142 turned out to be a high-precision weapon with a missile miss (such as the M30A1 GMLRS and M31) of only a few meters, and a detailed acquaintance with the effective combat parts of this system by our specialists took place after their rupture in the target area.
The use of high-speed anti-radar missiles AGM-88 HARM (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile) turned out to be quite sudden at first. At first, it was mistakenly believed that it was unlikely to be possible to fully integrate this product into Soviet-made aircraft. Therefore, we did not pay much attention to the fact that in Ukraine they are re-equipping the beam holders of fighters and bombers for the combat use of missiles of this type.
Nevertheless, after the first successful launches of the AGM-88 HARM against missiles of this type, a fairly effective antidote was quickly found. And to say that HARM is a modern means of destruction would be a great exaggeration. After all, this product was developed at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s.
Problems of artillery and tanks
As for the samples of Western artillery transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (these include, in particular, the German-made PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery unit, the American-made 155-mm M777 towed howitzer, the 155-mm CAESAR self-propelled artillery unit developed and manufactured by the French company Nexter, as well as a number of other systems), they showed certain advantages in counter-battery warfare compared to domestic ACS type 2C3 "Acacia" and 2C19 "Msta-S". And it would be a big mistake to ignore the very high tactical and technical characteristics of Western guns.
At the same time, the howitzers of the United States and NATO countries were not quite ready for such intensive operation in a large-scale continental war. In addition, the effectiveness of the combat use of Ukrainian artillery is affected today by both the large diversity of the fleet and unresolved issues of artillery and technical support, which, as is known, is carried out in order to maintain artillery weapons in constant readiness for combat use.
Significant problems have arisen with the rapid restoration of damaged and defective Western howitzers and their return to service during the fighting in Ukraine. The necessary repair facilities have not been deployed in the frontline zone, and stocks of combat units have not been created.
The combat use of Western armored combat vehicles also faced similar problems. It is still difficult to maintain constant combat readiness for the combat use of armored weapons and equipment transferred to the Armed Forces by the United States and its allies during combat operations.
Image source: Telegram channel "Voenndelo"
For many reasons, it is not always possible to quickly restore damaged and defective armored combat vehicles, return them to service, and provide troops with armored weapons, equipment and property.
To do this, separate evacuation battalions, repair and restoration regiments of armored weapons, mobile repair plants of armored vehicles, warehouses of armored equipment must be fully deployed in the frontline zone.
The APU was not ready for this. It's just that the West has not delivered everything necessary and in full (and specialists with the required qualifications in the first place).
Therefore, no convincing examples of the successful combat use of Western armored vehicles during the special operation have been revealed. And, I must say bluntly, the West has not supplied Ukraine with so many of its tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers. And moreover, without any exaggeration, he was negligent about the organization of full-fledged technical support.
As a conclusion, we can say the following.
Then the question arises - what kind of supplies of weapons and military equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine can have the most significant impact on the course of hostilities in the foreseeable future?
Should we wait for the "miracle weapon"
Apparently, these include the possible transfer of MGM-140A ATACMS (Army TACtical Missile System, Army Tactical Missile System) and German-Swedish long-range air-to-surface cruise missiles TAURUS KEPD 350/150 to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Image source: Alina Dzhus/"Newspaper.Ru"
If the cost of the delivered MGM-140A and TAURUS missiles goes to many hundreds, then this, presumably, will not lead to the victory of the Ukrainian army, but will create very, very serious problems for the Russian Armed Forces.
Finally, in the near future, the first multifunctional F-16 fighters are expected to be transferred to Ukraine. It is unlikely that these deliveries will take a massive character, however, fighters will seriously enhance the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Forces, since air-to-surface cruise missiles AGM-158 JASSM with a range of up to 370 km and AGM-158B JASSM-ER with a range of up to 980 km can be transferred along with combat vehicles.
Thus, the situation on the fronts is, as they say, in development, and it is too early to open champagne on the successful conclusion of the conflict (and the representatives of the Russian expert community have already appeared elated).
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok