“The deliveries of Harpoon coastal missile systems to Ukraine announced by Biden have already caused a lot of irony precisely because of their number two system, this is a talk about nothing. It is impossible to resist with such vehicles the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy, which currently controls the water area close to the maritime borders of Ukraine. But in fact, the problem is more complex, ”Sergey Belousov, a member of the College of Military Specialists, told socialbites.ca.
The coastal version of the Harpoon RGM-84 anti-ship complex is equipped with a warhead weighing 225 kg. The range of destruction, depending on the carrier, ranges from 90 to 220 kilometers. In this case, the rocket is subsonic.
It was previously reported that Denmark plans to supply the Harpoon complexes to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The head of the US Department of Defense, Lloyd Austin, thanked the Danish authorities for this decision, while information about the number and timing of the delivery of the missiles was not made public. The American edition of The Drive reported that Copenhagen could transfer “Harpoons” to Kiev, which were taken from Washington in the 1990s and decommissioned in 2003.
“The American Harpoon missile is in service both at sea and on land in many countries besides the United States,” military expert, 1st rank reserve captain Sergei Gromov said in an interview with Gazeta. Ru reporter. – It has long been known and used in military conflicts, both by the Americans and by other operators, including those against the United States, such as Iran. There is nothing particularly outstanding about this cruise missile, and let’s say the Soviet and later Russian Kh-35 Uranus is in no way inferior to it.”
The expert noted that the limited supply of “Harpoon” to Ukraine will not change the course of the special military operation.
“It is reported that the Ukrainian army is trained and can work with this complex. But at what level is unknown. For example, preparing the crew commander of the Bal or Bastion complex requires 2-3 years, and then several more years of military practice. “It is not entirely clear how the Ukrainian military will operate the American Harpoons with minimal training,” he said.
Gromov says.
Kyiv claims that the American Harpoon anti-ship missiles have already been received. This was said by the representative of the Odessa regional government, Sergey Bratchuk. “Personnel are trained in their use and, given proper command, could destroy the entire Russian Black Sea Fleet,” Bratchuk said. Said.
He also noted that the Harpoon missiles have entered service with the Ukrainian National Guard. At the same time, he did not specify how exactly the National Guard divided the two complexes with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“The missiles can reach 220 km, but they are easily suppressed by electronic warfare. There are no targets for them in the Black Sea – the Russian fleet is far and does not belong to the affected area. From Odessa to Sevastopol, where American systems should be installed – more than 300 km, absolutely they will not reach there. Will they seek targets at sea? This requires a set of equipment, reconnaissance and navigation tools, radar stations and means of protection that are no longer available. And it is completely incomprehensible what target the Harpoon can hit, ”says a military expert, reserve colonel Gennady Alekhin Gazeta .Dream.
In turn, Sergei Belousov stressed that the potential of the Harpoon missile should not be underestimated.
“This is not a unique missile, it is quite a serious weapon. Don’t underestimate his threat. For example, this is a great danger for the ships that come out. Unless, of course, they will not be without a suitable cover. I wouldn’t be ironic about the quantity either. Two “Harpoons” – only the first step. No one knows how long the military action will last, and if the United States begins to tightly saturate the Ukrainian Armed Forces with systems like the Harpoon, this will pose a real danger to the RF Armed Forces. There could potentially be dozens of systems. This is already serious. Such deliveries should be stopped at the border, destroyed in an attempt at full delivery, and not tested after their effectiveness,” Belousov says.
Source: Gazeta
