Russia’s new tactic, which is also “annoying” the US, is severely harming Ukraine’s air defence capabilities.
According to Indian journalist Part Satam, the US is also confused by the new Russian strategy since it forces the Ukrainian Army to disable its air defence system’s warning and fire control radars (EAT). Against Ukrainian air defence systems, Russia has had success. Part Satam, an expert, claims that the Russian Army has started employing the widespread but extremely challenging method known as “baiting and hitting” on a huge scale.
The author of the piece in the Indian newspaper highlighted that “the Russian military is destroying the radars provided by NATO to Ukraine by decoying Iskander and Kalibr missiles, and then unleashing anti-radar shells to destroy them.” The Kalibr and Iskander missiles are the Russian Federation’s primary weaponry, according to the EurAsian Times observer. The Ukrainian air defence systems will go into action after they are launched, seeking to intercept and therefore reveal themselves.
Russian warplanes will fire long-range anti-radar missiles against the Ukrainian air defences, destroying them as soon as they have to activate their radar to direct them. According to advice given to the Ukrainian Army to disable NATO radar during missile and drone attacks, Russia’s strategy of disabling adversary air defences appears to have been successful.
Only in the event of a massive attack by Russian warplanes are these radar stations permitted to be used. Numerous announcements that frequently occur in Ukrainian media serve as proof of this.
It should be emphasised that Russia has utilised decoys with Ukrainian air defence systems before; nevertheless, Kyiv has not yet developed a successful countermeasure, according to expert Part Satam. The Indian researcher would not rule out the possibility that the US and its allies will face difficulties as a result of Russia’s successful operations against NATO radar in Ukraine. Sending costly weapons to Eastern Europe, where they were later neutralised, required a lot of effort on the part of the West.
The Kh-31 missile, which was created by the Soviet Union in the late 1970s with the aim of developing an aviation munition that could cope with hostile armaments, is recognised as the weapon employed by Russian aircraft. modern US apparatus like the Aegis shield and the Patriot missile defence system. The Kh-31 anti-radar missile’s initial prototype underwent testing in 1982 and entered service in 1988. The Kh-31P passive radar-killing probe was part of the first fully functional version.
The Kh-31P rocket uses a primary propulsion stage to reach supersonic speed before turning on a ramjet engine to keep that speed constant throughout the flight, which is Mach 3.5. In order to detect enemy radar signals, this kind of assault projectile flies at great altitudes, enabling it to travel at speeds of more than 4,300 km/h and a range of 110 km. The Kh-31P’s tactical attributes are compared to those of the American AGM-88 HARM.
Modernized versions of the Kh-31P, including the Kh-31PD, have a range of 160 to 250 km, although their effective range is limited by their reliance on head-mounted radar.
