How Ukraine shoots down Russian missiles
2022.12.22 07:20
How Ukraine shoots down Russian missiles
Budrigannews.com – A Ukrainian pilot in an old Soviet MiG-29 fighter jet gave chase as Russian cruise missiles sped toward their target this month and locked onto two of them, but he was unable to fire: It was too risky as they got close to a big city.
He claimed that he gave the targets to Ukraine’s ground-based air defenses, who shot them down, as they have done with hundreds of missiles since October, minimizing the impact of a Russian air campaign to destroy the country’s power grid.
The 29-year-old pilot, whose codename is Juice, told Reuters about the Dec. 5 incident, “Fortunately for us, they succeeded.”
These kinds of battles take place frequently in the skies above Ukraine, and if defenses fail, millions of people will be left without heat, power, or running water during the bitterly cold winter.
The attacks, which were meant to intimidate innocent civilians, are called a war crime by Ukraine. In its “special operation,” Russia claims that the electricity grid is a legitimate military target.
According to the Pentagon, Russia’s missile strikes are partly intended to wear down Kyiv’s air defenses and eventually establish dominance over the country’s skies.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, went to Washington on Wednesday to look for “weapons, weapons, and more weapons,” like a Patriot missile battery that would strengthen the country’s defenses against missiles and drones coming in.
The attacks on energy targets threaten to further cripple the economy and disrupt daily life, including essential services like schools and hospitals. As shops and heavy industry struggle to keep the lights on, it is already expected to shrink by at least a third this year.
Since October 10, Russia has carried out nine large-scale air attacks, typically involving the simultaneous firing of more than 70 missiles, which have disrupted heating, running water, power, and mobile signals.
According to Reuters calculations based on Ukrainian data, Ukraine’s record of downing missiles ranges from approximately 50% to as much as 85%, with more recent attacks closer to the higher end.
It claimed that it had destroyed 60 of the 76 incoming missiles following the most recent attack on Friday.
In any case, those which come through cause serious harm. A large portion of Kyiv region has been without power and water for several days as a result of Ukraine’s emergency blackouts.
Juice and other fighter pilots fill in the vast gaps between air defense units, which are dispersed throughout a nation twice as large as Italy and primarily located close to major cities and infrastructure.
It is a difficult task. Juice claims that his MiG-29, which was manufactured before Ukraine gained independence from Soviet Russia in 1991, has not destroyed any drones or missiles.
The pilot, who would not disclose the location in central Ukraine where he is in a constant high state of readiness, stated, “Our jets are not capable enough to do that efficiently.”
He said that old radars made it hard to see approaching targets, especially Shahed drones that fly low and slowly and look like moving trucks on the radar screen.
Juice was too close to areas with a lot of people, like Dec. 5, when he couldn’t fire at targets.
According to Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat, the vast majority of missiles and drones are destroyed by ground-based air defense units rather than aging warplanes.
“Military and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) follow the course of rivers in an effort to be as low as possible and evade radars. They just vanish if they get low enough; then they come back up; “Ihnat said that it’s a game of cat and mouse.”
According to Ukrainian officials who spoke with Reuters, major missile barrages typically cause a pause that lasts for several days while Russian intelligence examines what was hit and missed, tracks the repositioning of Ukrainian air defenses, and looks for vulnerabilities to exploit.
“Air defenses do not stay in one location: Ihnat stated, “We can’t cover the entire country.”
According to Denys Smazhnyi, a senior official in charge of air defense training, intelligence gathering by both domestic and Western spy agencies plays a significant role in preparing Ukraine for Russian air strikes.
He stated, “So we usually know what objects are under attack, and we can build some kind of air defense around those objects.”
DWINDLING MISSILE STOCKS The chief of military intelligence for Ukraine has estimated that Russia may only possess sufficient high-precision weapons for a few additional significant air strikes.
However, as the invasion approaches the ten-month mark, Ukrainian officials also acknowledge that their own stocks of defensive weapons are decreasing.
According to Ihnat, Soviet-era systems make up the core of Ukrainian air defenses despite Western supplies of air defense systems to Ukraine, such as the sophisticated NASAMS and IRIS-T systems from the United States and Germany.
“The S-300 and BUK, which are the foundation of our Soviet air defense system, are being depleted. Because all of those systems’ unique spare parts are made in Russia, we can’t keep that up forever,” he continued.
According to officials from both air forces, the Western air defense systems that Ukraine has received have performed well, but supplies are significantly less than what is required.
“The equipment in Russia is getting older; Missiles are being lost by us. Smazhnyi stated, “I’m not saying they will run out in a few days or a few weeks… It will still depend on the intensity of the Russian attacks.”
According to the grid’s operator, Russia had fired more than 1,000 missiles and rockets at Ukraine’s power grid by December 7.
On Wednesday, the US reported $1.85 billion in extra military help for Ukraine, including an exchange of the Loyalist Air Guard Framework, Smazhnyi said such frameworks would give security against long range rockets that Ukraine is currently presented to.
According to Ihnat, Ukraine should concentrate on acquiring as many NASAMS supplies as possible because IRIS-T production was already at its maximum capacity.
“The winter is almost over; there is one more before February, which is short. I believe we will prevail. However, missiles are preferable to generators, he stated.
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Juice, who is fluent in English, stated that many of his Air Force peers were taking English lessons in their spare time in anticipation of Ukraine receiving Western aircraft like the F-16 multi-role fighter jet from the United States.
Ihnat stated that the pilots were acting independently, and there has been no indication that an F-16 delivery was imminent or agreed upon.
“Everyone is aware that we will eventually switch to F-16s or another type of plane, and English proficiency will be required,”
