The Ukrainian Armed Forces hit Crimea with ten ATACMS missiles. What is known about this weapon?

Russian air defense intercepted 10 ATACMS missiles over Crimea at night

On the night of May 15, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) struck Crimea with ten American-made Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) shells. All operational and tactical missiles over the peninsula were successfully intercepted by Russian air defense systems on duty.

According to the governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, several missiles were shot down by air defense systems over the sea and in the area of the Belbek airfield.

The Russian Defense Ministry called Kiev's actions an attempt to commit a terrorist attack on facilities in Russia.

Submunitions of ATACMS missiles scattered in Crimea after the APU attack

On the morning of May 15, Razvozhaev reported on undetonated submunitions scattered as a result of the defeat of ATACMS missiles by Russian air defense systems.

The head of Sevastopol called on children to show photos of submunitions, which he published on the channel. The head of the region warned that in case of detection of such fragments, residents of Crimea should in no case raise them and it is necessary to report the discovery by calling 112.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Evgeny Biyatov.
Source: iz.ru

Russian air defense systems are capable of shooting down ATACMS missiles

As he stated in April in an interview with Lenta.<url>" Captain of the first rank of the reserve Vasily Dandykin, Russia is capable of shooting down ATACMS missiles. The military expert noted that if missiles with a range of 300 kilometers were transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, then this is the distance from Ukraine to the Crimean Peninsula.

He also noted the danger of submunitions of ATACMS missiles, which in a cluster design may contain explosive balls. The expert admitted that Ukraine could have been supplied with products with an expired shelf life.

According to the Analytical Center for Aerospace Defense (AC East Kazakhstan Region), the Russian Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) is capable of shooting down any ballistic missiles available to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including ATACMS of various modifications.

The analysis of the organization's experts notes that the flight of the ATACMS rocket takes place at an altitude of 50-60 kilometers above sea level in a rarefied atmosphere, and therefore, when approaching the Earth's surface, it begins to slow down. In this case, the speed loss can reach 75-80 percent.

ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles are loaded into the HIMARS jet system.
Source: U.S. Army/AP

ATACMS are also capable of intercepting the Tor and S-400 air defense systems.

ATACMS missiles were developed in the 1980s

The basic version of the MGM-140A ATACMS Block 1 includes a control system in the nose, a cassette warhead, a solid-fuel engine and aerodynamic rudders. The M39 warhead contains about 950 M74 submunitions, which can hit lightly armored vehicles, vehicles, personnel and enemy radars with tungsten fragments. The M74 is capable of hitting manpower within a radius of 15 meters.

ATACMS is stored in a transport and launch container loaded with ammunition. Multiple launch rocket systems on the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) tracked chassis or wheeled M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) are used to launch missiles.

In 1998, an improved MGM-140B ATACMS Block 1A missile appeared in the United States, which was distinguished by an increased target range of up to 300 kilometers. To do this, the number of M74 submunitions was reduced to 275-300, and the control system was supplemented with the NAVSTAR satellite subsystem.

ATACMS missiles were secretly supplied to Ukraine

In April, The New York Times newspaper, citing sources, reported that Ukraine had secretly received more than 100 ATACMS missiles and managed to use them during military operations against Russia. The decision to transfer the ammunition was made by the President of the United States Joe Biden. The relevant missiles were included in the March package of military assistance to Ukraine without public statements.