Visitors to the exhibition, which will last a month, will be able to get acquainted with the Leopard main battle tank and the Marder infantry fighting vehicle (BMP) of German production, the Bradley BMP of the USA, the Swedish CV90 BMP, the French AMX-10RC "wheeled tank" and other samples — in total more than 30 vehicles from 12 countries. Small arms, equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, documents and ideological literature will also be presented.
What did Kiev get from the West?
Some EU countries began military support for Ukraine back in 2014, after the change of power in the country as a result of a coup.
With the beginning of the special military operation, the West's support for Kiev has increased many times. The Armed Forces of Ukraine received hundreds of units of various armored vehicles from Western partners (main battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, armored repair and evacuation vehicles). Patrol boats, millions of ammunition of all types, anti-aircraft missile and rocket-gun systems were transferred to Ukraine. Foreign manufacturers have equipped the AFU with radar stations for both air defense (air defense) and counter-battery warfare, communications and electronic warfare. Kiev has received a wide range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — from large Turkish attack vehicles to ultra-small drones weighing a few grams, as well as grenade launchers and anti-tank complexes, small arms, personal protective equipment, soldiers' rations. Kiev is expected to receive American fighters. Western experts have adapted the aircraft inherited by Ukraine from the USSR to anti-radar and cruise missiles of various types of foreign production. Some of the samples — for example, anti—aircraft missile systems - are located in the deep rear of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or were completely destroyed as a result of strikes by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. However, many others have become trophies of the Russian military as a result of offensive actions.
In February, a representative of the General Staff of the Russian Federation reported that since the beginning of its operation, specialists have analyzed more than 100 samples of captured weapons. In 2023, 870 samples were presented at the exhibition of foreign weapons seized by Russia during a special operation.
Verification by Ukraine
After the failure of the advertised counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the summer of 2023, dozens of units of Western-style tanks, armored combat vehicles, armored repair and evacuation vehicles on tank chassis remained on the battlefields. Some of them were evacuated by Russian forces.
BMP M2 Bradley
Image source: © Sergey Bulkin/ TASS
The "counteroffensive" began on June 4, and on June 13, the Russian Defense Ministry released footage of Russian soldiers inspecting damaged armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — a German Leopard tank 2 and the American Infantry Fighting Vehicle (BMP) Bradley. The running engines of both vehicles could indicate the hasty flight of the crews after a brief clash with Russian troops.
At the end of April this year, the Leopard 2 in the A5 modification (one of the most advanced delivered to Kiev), captured in the Avdiivka area of the special operation, was towed to the repair unit of the Center group of forces. The commander of the repair platoon noted that the weight of this version of the armored vehicle exceeds 65 tons. He added that the Armed Forces of Ukraine often mine abandoned equipment, so before the evacuation, the tank was examined by sappers.
Experts note that Western tanks, previously shrouded in a media halo of invulnerability, are too heavy, do not have dynamic protection to withstand modern anti-tank ammunition. In addition, according to experts, the machines were poorly used (with poor reconnaissance and without making passages in extensive minefields ), they were operated by poorly trained crews.
CV90 BMP
Image source: © Sergey Bulkin/ TASS
The Swedish CV90-40 BMP was shown to the guests of the Army-2023 forum at the trophy exhibition. The manufacturer (now part of the British defense concern BAE Systems) praises the "proven combat capability" of this family of armored vehicles, maneuverability, firepower, advanced ways to reduce visibility, and also calls the leader among IFVs weighing 20-38 tons. The modification captured by Russian troops is armed with a 40 mm automatic cannon (the main armament of the Russian BMP is a 30 mm cannon). All of the above did not save the "Swede" from defeat and Russian captivity.
Overly smart missiles
Ukraine began receiving high-tech guided missiles long before the start of the special operation. In the spring of 2018, the US Congress and the State Department approved the sale to Ukraine of the first 37 Javelin anti-tank missile systems (ATGMs), as well as 210 homing missiles to them. Since the beginning of 2022, the supply of anti-tank missiles has increased dramatically. So, by February 2022, Kiev received about 2 thousand portable NLAW anti-tank systems (Next Generation Light Anti—tank Weapon, "New Generation Light Anti-tank weapon") - missiles with an automated sight that can hit even moving targets at a range of up to 800 m. In March 2022, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said that the UK had supplied Kiev with more than 4 thousand of these missiles. "We are already running out of our own arsenal," the head of the British military department complained to Russian pranksters.
Already in March 2022, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported on the seizure of 10 Javelin and NLAW ATGMs, which were transferred to the units of the People's Militia of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Subsequently, the receipt of such trophies became regular.
A soldier of the People's Militia of the LPR with a portable NLAW anti-tank complex
Image source: © Alexander River/ TASS
Like Western-style tanks, small-sized guided missiles have not become a "miracle weapon" in modern large-scale combat operations. Military experts noted that NLAW did not confirm the claimed armor penetration — for example, there were cases when the Russian T-72 tank received about a dozen hits from such a missile, but maintained combat capability.
The Ukrainian prisoner of war said that Javelin and NLAW did not show themselves in practice in the best way: they misfired, and the delivered batches expired. "Usually one of the four shoots, and then there were explosions or even [shells] exploded 50 m away, not reaching the target," he said. In addition, experts doubted the sufficient level of proficiency in complex equipment by Ukrainian servicemen.
Javelin ATGM with a missile costs the buyer about $ 250 thousand NLAW, despite the guided missile, is much cheaper: about $ 30 thousand.
Drones of a difficult fate
Foreign drones of various types and purposes have also become trophies of the Russian Army. The largest of them is the Turkish—made Bayraktar TB2, shot down by Russian anti-aircraft gunners in the skies of the Luhansk People's Republic and put on display in Patriot Park in an almost intact form.
The Bayraktar TB2 has a range of 150 km, is capable of carrying a payload of 50 kg, including high-precision guided weapons, and is equipped with an automatic takeoff and landing system. The drone is exported to several countries, was successfully used in 2020 on the side of Azerbaijan in the fighting in Karabakh, fought in Syria and Libya. In 2018, Ukraine acquired six such devices, however, according to unofficial data, it could be about the supply of dozens of UAVs.
Bayraktar TB2 UAV
Image source: © Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/ Anadolu Agency via Reuters Connect
However, since the beginning of the special military operation, a large Turkish drone has become an easy prey for Russian anti-aircraft gunners. In May 2023, the Business Insider portal with reference to an expert from the American Center for Naval Analysis (CNA, Center for Naval Analyses) Samuel Bendetta reported that Ukraine has lost almost all of its Bayraktar TB2. Earlier, the commander of the air defense forces, Lieutenant General Andrei Demin, said that since the beginning of the air defense, more than 100 attack drones of this type have been shot down by Russian air defense systems.
The opposite of the Bayraktar TB2 is the superminiature Black Hornet reconnaissance UAV of the American defense conglomerate Teledyne Flir. Depending on the modification, the nanodron has a mass from 18 to 33 g. The drone has two cameras, it can stay in the air for several tens of minutes. In the summer of 2022, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense announced that it would supply Ukraine with a Black Hornet together with the United Kingdom. According to media reports and social networks, in the summer of 2023, a set of an operator's console and several drones was captured by intelligence officers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
The "eyes" and "ears" of the gunners
Foreign sponsors began supplying Ukraine with modern counter-battery radars that determine the coordinates of artillery battery positions along the trajectory of projectiles, long before their own. The reports of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the destroyed equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine state that Kiev uses American radar stations of the AN/TPQ family of counter-battery warfare. These are portable AN/TPQ-48 and AN/TPQ-50, which are often installed on automotive equipment, as well as AN/TPQ-36, AN/TPQ-37 and AN/TPQ-64 towed on semi-trailers. One AN/TPQ-48 station was attacked by Donbass militias back in 2015, when Ukrainian forces were retreating from Debaltseve. Another copy was shown at the exhibition of trophies of the Army-2022 forum.
Russian troops use a wide range of counter—battery radars - from the Zoo series radar on the chassis of a tracked transporter capable of detecting missile launches from a distance of 40 km, to such compact radar reconnaissance firing positions as 1L271 "Aistenok". At the same time, the military operators of the Aistenka note that the real characteristics of its equipment exceed those stated. So, the radar, which according to the passport "sees" mortar shells of 81 mm caliber and more, in practice "sees everything that is larger than 30 mm — these are tank shells, AGS grenades, rockets."
Cruise missiles: nothing extraordinary
The Russian troops also got the unobtrusive long-range cruise missile Storm Shadow produced by the European defense concern MBDA as a trophy. Their transfer was announced by British Defense Minister Ben Wallace in May 2023. "The use of Storm Shadow missiles will allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces from the sovereign territory of Ukraine," the head of the British military department was full of optimism. Missiles with a range of 250-300 km can be launched in Ukraine from Su-24 and Su-27 aircraft modified by Western specialists. Storm Shadow was used by Kiev during combined attacks on facilities in the territory of Crimea. At the same time, most of the ammunition was intercepted by the Russian air defense. Systematic work is also underway to destroy Ukrainian cruise missile carriers, both in the air and at home airfields.
Storm Shadow Cruise Missile
Image source: © ABACA via Reuters Connect
In the summer of 2023, one of the most preserved missiles struck by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the skies of the Zaporozhye region was delivered to Moscow for study. Boris Obnosov, CEO of the Tactical Missile Weapons Corporation (KTRV), said on the sidelines of the Army 2023 International Military Technical Forum that he had not found "something extraordinary" after studying samples of Western-designed missiles. "We are looking at it, but I will not say that so that you can directly take it and say that they are better and we are worse," the head of the corporation summed up.
Victor Bodrov