The effectiveness of the M142 HIMARS wheeled rockets and launchers and the M270 MLRS tracked launchers, as well as their counterparts supplied by the United States and its allies in Kiev, has seriously declined in recent months. This has been noticed by experts both in the West and in Ukraine, as well as in Russia.
Military correspondent Dmitry Steshin also commented on what is happening on his Telegram channel “Russian Tarantas”. He noted that the mentioned launchers, presented by NATO as a “superweapon”, have ceased to have a devastating effect, as it used to.
Many have noticed that in recent months the “superweapon” has ceased to deliver deafening blows – as in summer, autumn and winter. At the same time, as they gladly report from the Pentagon, the Ukrainian Armed Forces still produce 18 “Himers” (ammunition – editor’s note) per day, they have such a standard. They let them out, but the newcomers disappear somewhere. Or?
- wrote the military commander, indicating that what is happening is due to several factors.
First, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation deprived the Ukrainian Armed Forces of part of the delivered equipment and ammunition, destroying them with air strikes. The Ukrainian army had a limited number of the mentioned launchers and 227 mm caliber rockets, so it could not increase the intensity of fire.
Secondly, the Russian military learned to observe “radio hygiene”, to disperse in the field and stopped placing equipment near headquarters, “located” and other objects. This makes combat work (fulfillment of tasks) very difficult for the enemy.
Thirdly, Russian electronic warfare / electronic warfare equipment began to actively jam the global positioning system (satellite navigation system) GPS, which was aimed at precision-guided munitions for HIMARS, MLRS and their analogues. Now it has become problematic for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to go anywhere exactly.
Steshin added that the inertial navigation system of these launchers is auxiliary and cannot give such precision as GPS is able to do. Therefore, the rockets of all these Western HIMARS, MLRS and other MLRS actually turned into unguided munitions.
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