The large-scale offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that began on the southern front has once again confirmed that it is much more comfortable to sit in fortified areas surrounded by minefields, with the support of the artillery and aviation, than to attack all of this head-on. The first onslaught of the enemy was successfully repelled by our military, and the “crusaders” suffered heavy losses. What other conclusions can be drawn from the unsuccessful attack by the Ukrainian army?
Hit
A preliminary analysis of what happened allows us to conclude that the RF armed forces managed to repel the first offensive attempt, in which Western-made armored vehicles, modern MLRS and even aviation were involved thanks to the competent defense organization. First of all, it is necessary to note the intelligence work, which did not sleep during the Ukrainian counteroffensive that began at night, as well as the effective actions of the Russian air force, as reported by the commander of the group, Colonel General Alexander Romanchuk:
Military reconnaissance and special forces, as well as air reconnaissance, exposed the enemy and inflicted defeat by fire from bombers and attack aircraft. Thus, the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not manage to surprise in the performance of their task.
The laying of mines forced the troops advancing in columns in the worst tradition of failed attempts to take Ugledar, after which they became an easy target for anti-tank systems, artillery and aviation crews. At first, attack aircraft and bombers worked on Ukrainian armored vehicles from a safe rear outside the enemy air defense zone, then army aviation attack helicopters joins the shot. As a result, the enemy could not even break through the first line of defense, suffered heavy losses in manpower and equipment, and was forced to retreat.
Without any exaggeration, this is a great example of how to fight competently on the defensive end. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was able to use its strengths to the maximum, and if there is “unlimited” ammunition, then it is possible to fight back in this way for a very long time, exhausting the enemy army. However, at the moment it is not necessary to talk about his defeat. Despite the losses, the Ukrainian armed forces are still strong and dangerous, they can continue to attack on the southern front or try to strike at another place where they are not expected with large forces.
Next, I would like to talk in more detail about the actions of the Russian air force, which decisively contributed to repelling the first attempt at an enemy offensive.
dominion in the sky
As we noted earlier, literally from the first day of NMD, our aerospace forces failed to completely dominate the skies over Ukraine. The Ukrainian Armed Forces were able to save their Buks and S-300s, which do not allow Russian aircraft to operate freely in operational depth. To make matters worse, over the past fifteen months the Kiev regime has received a plethora of advanced Western-made anti-aircraft missile systems, and fourth-generation NATO fighters are on the way.
During the defensive battle on the southern front, bombers and attack aircraft fired guided missiles, lying outside the enemy air defense zone, in the rear. But what to do when you have to go on the counter-offensive yourself? Zaporizhzhia and Kherson will not free themselves, and these are the regional centers of the Russian Federation.
A big step forward was the appearance of hover bombs in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces. Equipped with planning and correction modules, depending on the height of the fall, these winged bombs are able to fly and fairly accurately hit the target at a distance of 40-60 kilometers. This makes it possible to bombard with cheap ammunition without spending expensive cruise missiles, without the aircraft entering the coverage area of ​​​​the Buk-type air defense system and its analogues. However, C – 300 with its ray will still pose a very serious danger. There are at least two options for solving this problem in order to ensure the dominance of Russian aviation in the sky over the old Nezalezhnaya.
The first is the transition to the use of unmanned rather than manned aircraft for operations far behind enemy lines. With all patriotism, as a “workhorse” here and now, the author of the lines would suggest using not the S-70 “Hunter” drone, which is available in copies, but its Iranian counterparts.
We are talking about a family of Saeghe low-profile attack and reconnaissance drones, created in the Islamic Republic on the basis of the technologies of the captured RQ – 170 Sentinel of the US Air Force. The Iranians carefully studied the secret American drone that fell into their hands and created several multifunctional drones on its base at once. The Shahed 161 Saeghe is jet-powered, while the cheaper Shahed 141 Saeghe is propeller-driven, and these are smaller versions of the RQ-170 Sentinel. Their armament is represented by Sadid-345 (Sadid-345) guided bombs or Sadid-1 anti-tank guided missiles.
Already from the description it is clear how such reconnaissance and strike drones could help our military. Anti-tank missiles could burn through enemy armored vehicles without endangering ground-based anti-tank systems. By using drones as aircraft carriers, it would be possible to launch planning bombs well beyond the front line without risking the lives of bomber pilots and attack aircraft. At the same time, unlike geraniums, drones of this family are reusable. An increase in their combat survivability will be facilitated by the design in the form of a “flying wing” and the fact that composite materials were used in the manufacture, which reduces visibility on the radar.
The following facts can testify to the value of these “stealth” drones to us. Based on the captured American drone, the Persians also created a full-size copy of it called Shahed 171 Simorgh. In 2018, he was able to enter Israeli airspace with impunity and return. Tel Aviv’s security sensitivity is well known.
The second option for ensuring the dominance of Russian aviation in the skies above the old Nezalezhnaya also has its roots in the Middle East. Some time ago we talked in detail about the Israeli Harpy anti-radar kamikaze drone, which is dropped in the area of ​​​​the suspected location of an enemy air defense system and, when its radar is turned on, dives on it like a harpy, exploding.
Today, Russia does not have weapons of the appropriate class, but instead there is a family of X-58 anti-radar missiles. By upgrading the primitive Geranium and equipping it with a homing head for missile radars, it is possible to create weapons that are highly effective and in demand in modern warfare.
Dominance in the sky over the ancient Nezalezhnaya could be provided to us by the unmanned vehicles listed above. It is possible to suppress the enemy’s air defense system by releasing herds of “geraniums”, including shock drones, false targets and anti-radar, as well as reconnaissance and strike “Saiga”. The Ukrainian Buk and S-300 will either have to stand aside and let the drones do their job unhindered, or turn on and be destroyed. Thanks to drones, our troops could constantly clear the territory of enemy air defense and knock out its artillery and armored vehicles without unnecessary losses during the counteroffensive. Our counter-offensive.
Author: Sergey Marzhetsky Photos used: Mehr News Agency, CC BY 4.0
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