Data on the loading of containers from the MGM-140 to the US Air Force military transport aircraft was published by the Defense News portal. Prior to that, Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, announced deliveries. At the same time, neither the Pentagon nor the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the transfer of missiles to HIMARS to Ukraine.
The MGM-140 ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) is a short-range ballistic missile that can be launched from the M142 HIMARS and M270 multiple launch rocket systems that Ukraine received from the UK and Germany. ATACMS was developed by Lockheed Martin Corporation.
Modern variants of ATACMS have a range of up to 300 km. Thus, they can hit targets at a distance of more than three to four times the range of guided missiles equipped with the Ukrainian M142 and M270.
Currently, the US Armed Forces is equipped with four types of ATACMS missiles.
Only one of them (MGM-168A ATACMS Block 4A) is equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead. The other three missiles are equipped with cluster warheads with high-explosive fragmentation or other sub-munitions. Their number depends on the type and purpose. Thus, the 560 kg warhead of the MGM-140A missile carries 950 combat elements, while the MGM-164A is equipped with only 13 units with a total mass of 268 kg.
“Provision of the US ATACMS system will allow Kiev to attack key logistics and technical support nodes, other important targets beyond Ukraine’s current capabilities to deliver precision strikes. However, providing Ukraine with new opportunities risks escalating tensions, ”says the Defense News portal.
At the same time, the portal claimed that the condition for sending ATACMS is “Kiev’s obligation not to use missiles for attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation.”
Officials of the Ukrainian Armed Forces claim that ATACMS missiles fly much faster than the Russian S-300 Triumph and S-400 Favorit anti-aircraft missile systems. Therefore, it is alleged that the RF Armed Forces will not be able to take them down.
ATACMS for Triumph and Favorit are above all air objects characterized by an effective reflective surface (or an effective scattering surface). As an object of destruction, both HIMARS rockets and ATACMS missiles for the S-300 and S-400 are nothing special.
Now about speed. The experts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces that the HIMARS missile flies faster than an anti-aircraft missile is, to say the least, wrong. An ordinary projectile for this MLRS flies at a speed of 700-800 m / s, in the region of ATACMS – 1500 m / s. The speed of the 5V55 anti-aircraft guided missile of the S-300 type is almost 2000 m / s. The S-400 has a speed of more than 2500 m/s. S-300 and S-400 missiles are faster than ATACMS.
At the same time, the operating range of the S-300 and S-400 is 250-350 km, comparable to the range of ATACMS.
The challenges of combating HIMARS missiles and anti-aircraft missile systems are quite different. HIMARS is a highly mobile system and it is difficult to tell (without accurate intelligence) where combat vehicles will be deployed in a given location from time to time. That is, the highest requirements are set for reconnaissance in general, and in this case for the radar reconnaissance system.
To repel ATACMS attacks, Russian air defense systems must operate in “continuous duty” mode.
The anti-aircraft missile system should be activated, the power supply should be provided regularly, the air defense system should be checked whether it works, the entire combat team should be at work, lighting and guidance radars (S-400). multifunctional radars) must be deployed towards the firing positions of the HIMARS MLRS, and the radiation must work for anti-aircraft guided missiles – it must go through the necessary training cycle.
Systems must change. This means that in key areas where there is a potential risk of ATACMS attack, the number of S-300s and S-400s must be increased for effective and continuous rotation.
The author’s view may not coincide with the editors’ position.
Author biography:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military observer for socialbites.ca, a retired colonel.
Graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-aircraft Missile School (1976),
Air Defense Military Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile battalion (1980–1983).
Deputy commander of an anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior officer of the Air Defense Forces Main Staff (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduate of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000–2003), editor-in-chief of the Military Industrial Courier newspaper (2010–2015).