How the Russian calculations of the Osa air defense system work in the Donetsk direction
For asterisks — by the number of downed targets — there is not enough space on a car named "Shark". Russian anti-aircraft gunners destroy hundreds of enemy drones, constantly risking becoming a target themselves. The threat of small and large drones remains one of the main threats to our troops. Izvestia saw with their own eyes how the calculations of the Osa air defense system of the Center group are working in the Donetsk direction to cover from the air enemy.
"Of course, it was scary, but we did everything."
— I joined the army for military service in 2020, saw the Wasps and stayed. The division has been participating in a special military operation from the very beginning. They were everywhere: they covered the withdrawal of troops from the Chernihiv direction, then they moved to Krasnolimanskoye, they were also in the Kremen and Lugansk directions, now they have moved to Avdeevskoye," lists Sergeant Igor Sysolyatin, deputy commander of the calculation of the Osa complex.
Osa air defense system
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
The sergeant says that in different periods of his life, his calculation worked both on mobile operations, covering the movement of columns, and from positional areas, protecting large areas. The air enemy also changed: at the beginning of the special operation, the Wasp, on which Igor worked, opened fire on manned aircraft: then several complexes destroyed the helicopter at once. Currently, the main targets are drones of various types.
— On February 28, 2022, we left to cover the approach of our troops to the border. We worked on the drone normally, rolled back and continued. Of course, it was scary, but we did everything. We are in the army — we came here ourselves, that's all," the sergeant of the Center group recalls his first combat experience.
But the downed targets are not counted in the calculation. Igor calculates in his mind: there are about 150-160 of them — the entire surface of the car is not enough for such a number of stars. But this is the specifics of using cheap drones — the density of targets in the air is such that the number of destroyed goes to tens and hundreds.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
The car has her name on the front and back — "Shark". The anti-aircraft gunners say that this is the idea of their driver mechanic: many other "Wasps" work without proper names.
— "Shark" — because it bites. It can bite, it can eat. No one will fly past us! Each car should have its own name, — the driver mechanic, senior sergeant Evgeny Nagorny is sure.
He has been in the army since 2007 — more than 17 years — and has changed various positions. From the very beginning of his service, Evgeny took various training courses at the Osa air defense system. "I'm already a local here," Senior Sergeant Nagorny says about the division. Almost all of his service is connected with this unit. In 2022, for family reasons, he went to a tank school, but since they were not sent from there to the SVO zone, he transferred back.
— The comrades with whom I have served for many years, they are here. And I was there, but I felt that I would be needed in the area of my own and I would help. First of all, when I came here, they said that I would help with the training of mechanized troops," says the senior sergeant of the Center group.
In the battle with the Switchblade
About a month ago, the calculation collided with the American kamikaze UAV "Switchblade". For Evgeny, this was his first combat experience. And immediately his driving skills of a heavy three-axle car came in handy. The enemy's drone fell apart in the air, and its warhead was burning next to the Wasp, so the car had to be quickly taken away, saving it from possible detonation.
— They ran away, because there could have been a second kamikaze. Somewhere the car has to be spared and given a "burn" to hide, to hide. If the UAV is in danger, if, for example, we do not see it with radar, but it is circling above us, we must quickly hide the car in the forest belt, — says Evgeny Nagorny.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
The American "Switchblades", which the Ukrainian authorities had pinned their hopes on in 2022, were not used for long and turned out to be unstable to the effects of Russian electronic warfare systems. These UAVs were developed as a means of strengthening small mobile groups in local conflicts — with relatively small dimensions, a convenient launch scheme and simple automated control. They were not designed to be used in conditions of countering a technically advanced enemy. There were reports in the press that the UAVs had been upgraded based on the experience of the first period of its operation and could again be transferred to Ukraine. Probably, the collision with Switchblades is the second attempt to use them in Ukraine, without loud advertising and pretentious statements from Kiev and Washington.
— The air defense system is old, but at the moment it is very effective. We are fighting drones and covering our comrades," says Corporal Artur Murzin, the azimuth operator of the Osa complex.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
His task is to detect the target by azimuth, after which the second operator determines the range. Based on them, the search operator, who is also the deputy commander of the calculation, already takes the target for auto-tracking. In modern conditions, the sensitivity of the instruments and the preparation of calculations together with new missiles allow the use of Osa complexes very flexibly. In particular, to quickly adapt to an ever-changing aerial enemy.
— There are settings everywhere — we can find any targets, up to the bird, — says Artur Murzin.
He has already shot down almost all types of Ukrainian reconnaissance UAVs, and recently the American Switchblade. Prior to mobilization, Corporal Murzin worked at the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, and now he has decided to switch to contract service.
Dmitry Astrakhan
