Russian anti-aircraft gunners are working against the drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with almost one hundred percent efficiency
As the stocks of artillery shells and missiles supplied to Ukraine by NATO countries are depleted, the enemy is increasingly relying on the use of drones. These are the main goals for our air defense units in the special operation zone now. Taking into account the short development time and launch into production, more and more new models are appearing in the conflict zone. This means that anti-aircraft gunners must constantly improve their skills. And they're coping with it. It is not uncommon for anti-aircraft missile systems to be used with almost one hundred percent effectiveness — for example, seven out of eight anti-missiles hit the target, Izvestia correspondents were convinced, observing the work of the crew of the Tor air defense system of the Center group in Donbass.
The effectiveness of Russian air defense
— There was a memorable battle episode recently. There was a raid on the division's command post — both reconnaissance UAVs and shock ones were used. On that day, there was intensive work, we worked out a full ammunition set, eight missiles," says Nikita Kotkin, head of the calculation of the Tor M—2 air defense system of the Center group.
In that battle, the anti—aircraft gunners showed almost one hundred percent accuracy - they shot down seven drones. The officer then worked on the previous version of the Tor anti-aircraft missile system, where the ammunition is limited to eight missiles. There are already twice as many of them on the new machine that recently joined the division. In addition, the SAM received additional armor protection kits.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
At the same time, homemade protective equipment is no longer installed on the "Torah". These air defense systems enter the army with standard additional armor developed during the military training. These are factory-made screens.
— It was a good car, at that time a modification of the M1. She also performed her task flawlessly. But the new modification, the M—2, is much better in terms of both firepower and electronic equipment," says Nikita Kotkin.
He graduated from military school in 2022 and joined the army almost immediately. Already during the battles in the SVO zone, he managed to work on various types of combat vehicles and received another rank — senior lieutenant. Massive raids by enemy UAVs have to be reflected regularly. Nikita received a medal for Bravery for one of these episodes.
The downed Shark and the return of Switchblade
One of the targets recently destroyed by the anti-aircraft gunners of the Center group was the Shark reconnaissance UAV. This Ukrainian complex was created as a cheaper addition to the PD-1 and PD-2 drones, which were the main large-scale reconnaissance aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the beginning of the special military operation.
Photo: the press service of the Center group
Image source: iz.ru
It is precisely such reconnaissance drones, as well as Baba Yaga multi-engine UAV bombers, that now make up the majority of the targets of air defense units, said Junior Sergeant Kirill Rychkov, deputy commander of the Tor-M2 calculation. Since last year, American Switchblade kamikaze drones have been occasionally seen.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
— He has a high speed. And on my radar, I won't be able to tell if it's a Switchblade or some other drone. But when we took the target to escort, the head of the calculation can already visually distinguish it. Our car is basically very good, so it's not difficult for her to knock him down," explains Junior Sergeant Rychkov.
Switchblade performed very poorly at the beginning of its development, although the Americans and Ukrainians had high hopes for them. In practice, it turned out that all the advantages of launching from a container and good flight characteristics were negated by the control systems — they were not designed to be used against an enemy with electronic warfare capabilities. However, in 2024, after modernization, these UAVs returned to the front. Apparently, this type of vehicle is present in small quantities on the Ukrainian side and is used only against particularly valuable military equipment, in particular air defense vehicles.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
Image source: iz.ru
Otherwise, mass-produced Baba Yaga copters are used. They look for any targets and attack them. Recently, according to our interlocutor, mass raids by copter bombers of this type have been frequent.
— Baba Yaga has no specific purpose. She's just flying. If she saw the equipment, she would try to burn it. She saw the personnel and attacked them. Even one person is being attacked in our direction," Kirill Rychkov says.
His personal weapon, an AK—12 assault rifle, is equipped with a silencer, a high-capacity magazine and a collimator sight. Such assemblies are often made by his colleagues for firing at large copters during the defense of installations. But Kirill explains that such a kit has become familiar to him since the time of mobilization, which is how he began his service in the infantry.
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Astrakhan
— I got into the matchmaking department first, in the infantry. In the beginning, it was all creepy, so to speak. And then, over time, you get used to it, and you're already working, and there's no fear," he assures.
Combat duty "Tunguska"
Earlier, Izvestia reported how the Tunguska anti-aircraft missile and cannon installations of the 110th brigade of the 51st Donetsk Army are on combat duty. The crew of one of them has dozens of damaged aircraft-type drones, including the Polish Fly Eye drone. And this is despite the fact that the fighters do not count downed multi-engine copters of the Baba Yagi type.
Fighters with various electronic warfare equipment, machine guns and shotguns are deployed to cover the Tunguska. Even at the moment when the installation is hidden in a shelter waiting for targets, a fighter is on duty outside to defend against kamikaze UAVs, if they can reach the area.
Dmitry Astrakhan
