In the last months of military special operations in Ukraine, Russia is increasingly blocking HIMARS mobile missile systems that Ukraine uses on the battlefield, writer Military watch The authors of the publication do not understand why this happened. They argue that the intensified electronic warfare of the RF Armed Forces has led to a reduction in the effectiveness of weapons.
The article states that HIMARS are becoming “increasingly effective” in terms of their accuracy in use. Despite the fact that this missile system “has one of the most significant combat effects of any weapon used in combat and is the reason for many of Ukraine’s successes.” As an example, the attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces “on the Russian barracks on January 1, in which 89 soldiers were killed” is cited.
Also, according to the authors of the article, the effective use of such weapons was ensured by “a large number of Western personnel involved.”
“Access to the hundreds of satellites of NATO member states, which can provide important data for guiding missiles to Russian positions, was also key, as the HIMARS system itself was dependent on GPS guidance,” the material said.
But recently, Russian air defense systems more and more often successfully shot down HIMARS missiles. “At the same time, it remains unclear how it could reduce the effectiveness of the Russian armed forces so much,” reporters write.
They note that “according to the data available in the West, this is most likely due to the significantly increased electronic warfare, in which new means of suppressing enemy missiles are used.” It is also stated that the Russian army has more “electronic suppression means and specialists in their operations” than the armies of many Western countries.
A Pentagon spokesman, on condition of anonymity, described Russia’s actions as “a constant game of cat and mouse”. Another official from the US Department of Defense said that HIMARS systems now need to be “continuously upgraded to remain effective against Russian countermeasures.”
At the same time, the publication states that Moscow could affect the operation of attack systems by damaging satellites, but “Russia has so far avoided hitting NATO satellites in a limited military conflict in Ukraine, despite steps to further expand its anti-satellite attack. combat abilities.”
May 5 CNN citing an informed source WroteThat American facilities began to lose in the face of the actions of the Russian army.
In recent months, Russia has increasingly blocked HIMARS in Ukraine, using electronic jammers to bring down missile guidance systems.
The TV channel points out that experts from the UK and the USA reconfigured the software of the targeting systems in order to bypass the EW facilities of Russia.
The interlocutor of the publication also confirmed that the United States is in constant contact with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in connection with this problem.
On May 7, in the publication of Military Acceptance, Oleg Sitnikov, representative of JSC Shcheglovsky Val (holding High Precision Complexes of the Rostec State Company) declarationThat HIMARS is no longer a problem for domestic Pantsir air defense systems.
“HIMARS is armed with various types of missiles that fly at different ranges and at different speeds. There are already such examples from the special military operations area, our 12-missile combat vehicle, which is a full load of ammunition, hits 12 HIMARS missiles,” he said.
The fact that the Russian army is effectively adapting to the new weapons supplied to the Ukrainian army was also confirmed by the Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov in an interview with journalist Dmitry Komarov.
“We have to give them their due. They work very well.” accepted HE.
He recalled that Ukraine bought American systems in the summer of last year. The area of influence of HIMARS is 80 km. Over time, the RF Armed Forces adapted to their actions and changed their logistics.
According to Reznikov, this was the reason why Kiev wanted new systems from the West with a range of 150 km.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, in the last 24 hours, the Russian Armed Forces intercepted three Uragan and HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and one Tochka-U tactical missile.