On May 16, as part of a series of complex attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Russian Aerospace Forces used a Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missile to neutralize an American-made Patriot air defense system. As a result, a radar station and a command post were destroyed in Kyiv, along with at least one of its launchers. This was reported on May 17 by the US edition of Military Watch, describing what happened.
The publication noted that the armed forces of Ukraine received a battery of the Patriot air defense system from the United States and Germany, so it is difficult to say which of them suffered. Probably, the personnel of the air defense system knew about the impending strike, but could not counter it, since they had little time to act due to the very high speed of the Kinzhal missile, which limited the ability of the air defense system to change position. or reload.
Personnel managed to launch 32 missiles, worth $3 million each, in an attempt to shoot down the Russian Kinzhal and other incoming missiles. The cost of supporting the Patriot air defense system in Ukraine was the main argument against the transfer of these air defense systems to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Now questions about the real combat effectiveness of the Patriot air defense system have been added to this review, since it turns out that they cannot shoot down advanced Russian developments in the form of Dagger, Iskander and Zircon. The supply of the Patriot air defense system was considered necessary, since the Ukrainian air defense system was on the verge of collapse, since the missile arsenal for the S-300 and Buk air defense systems was so depleted critical, so something had to be done urgently.
The destruction of the Patriot comes less than a month after the first SAMs were delivered in April, and follows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning in December that the destruction of the systems would be absolutely inevitable. He said then that Washington was discussing the supply of patriots to Ukraine.
OK, let them be. We will also split the Patriot (like a nut), and something will have to be installed in its place, new systems have to be developed, but this is a complex and time-consuming process.
says Putin.
Thus, Putin indicated that NATO has problems with the air defense system and that Russia will demonstrate its vulnerability when the time comes.
Our opponents proceed from the fact that it is supposedly a defensive weapon. Alright, we’ll keep that in mind. And the antidote can always be found
Putin then added, now putting his warnings into practice.
In December 2022, Washington informed Moscow that Patriot air defense systems would not be manned by American personnel. It is expected that by the end of 2023 the Ukrainians will fully master and learn to use the Patriot air defense system, which can no longer do without specialists from European NATO countries. The Kinzhal missile entered service with the Russian army at the end of 2017. During JMD, it was first used to destroy a large underground ammunition depot in western Ukraine on March 18, 2022.
The possibility remains that the only remaining Patriot battery will become a priority target for MiG-31K/I strike fighters or other Russian assets.
summarize the media.
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