HISTORY

An explosion at Diaghilevo Airbase destroyed

a ground source and damaged a Tu-22M3 designated RF-34110. The bomber has a Ch-22 missile

under its wing.

Three Russian soldiers died in the explosion and subsequent fire.

ses which let the drone fly hundreds of

kilometers over its territory. The Russian AA defense did not excel either. If the

drone were shot down, as the Russians

claim, they also had flown undisturbed

hundreds of kilometers and regardless,

hit the bases where they caused damage.

And it seems that the Russians are not

confident in their AA defenses because

after the attack they transferred majority of their bombers to the more remote

bases.

Patriots from the USA

and Germany

Thanks to the Allies, Ukrainians strengthen their AA defense. Having received

various systems from several countries

in October and November, on December

21 the USA announced that they will deliver the Patriot system battery. Germany

joined right after and committed to deliver another battery. The American one is

the PAC-3 version primarily designated to

destroy the ballistic missiles. PAC-3 missiles feature the improved guidance and

maneuvering capabilities with the range

of 30 km. The modernized PAC-3 MSE

can reach as far as 60 km. The disadvantage is the shorter range when deployed

against the aircraft. It can be resolved by

using the older PAC-2 missiles with 160

km range if deployed against the airplanes. It was confirmed that the German

version will use both PAC-2 and PAC-3

rockets. Training of the Ukrainian soldiers

manning Patriots supposedly started during January in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

The continued Russian attacks against the

Ukrainian civilian infrastructure requires strengthening of the AA defense. Th

attacks took place during the holidays as

well. Ukraine inclines to celebrate Christmas in the European traditional period of

time. They are off on both December 25

February 2023

and January 7, and they can choose the

date. This year approximately 60 per cent

of Ukrainians chose the first date. The

Russians did not care and shelled tens of

cities and villages in Kharkov and Zaporozhye areas. At least 13 civilians died in

Kherson. On New Year’s Eve more than 20

cruising missiles were fired at Kiev and

hit a hotel and a multi-family building.

Some of them crash

by themselves

The largest attack came between Christmas and New Year’s, on Thursday, December 29. The Russians, according to the

initial reports, launched 100-120 missiles.

Approximately 70 of them hit the Ukrainian territory and 54 were shot down by

the AA defense. Several videos appeared

showing Ukrainians destroying the cruise

missiles with shoulder mounted portable

rockets. Thanks to the early discovery

of the launched rockets, they can estimate their hundred of kilometers long

route and intercept their flight by teams

equipped with Stinger missiles. Most

of the time they fire several Stingers at

the same time so as at least one of them

hits the Russian rocket. The last of these

teams are positioned on the house roofs

in the suburbs of the supposed targets of

the Russian attacks. The missiles that do

penetrate the defenses cause massive

damage on the energy infrastructure.

There is an interesting discrepancy between 100-120 Russian rockets reported

in the morning that day, probably based on

the Allied reconnaissance aircraft data,

and 70 missiles that actually hit. It may

not be a mistake, at least partially, and

Russians indeed launched more missiles than actually struck. In the following

days at least three videos appeared capturing the wrecks of the Russian rockets

which failed after the launch and crashed

Detail of the damage to a Tu-22M3 marked RF-34110.

on their own territory. Two of them were

lying in the fields but one hit a house and

set it on fire. We can only guess how many

more malfunctioning missiles crashed

without any trace somewhere in the vast

Russian countryside.

Are they going to obtain

JDAM sets?

Besides the AA defense equipment,

Ukraine of course receives other weapons. To list all the types of AFVs, artillery

and recently tanks as well, would be sufficient for a standalone article and moreover it is not linked to the main theme

of this series. One new weapon which is

being discussed lately is however directly

associated with the air war. According to

Washington Post the USA plan to supply

Ukraine with JDAM sets which can transform the classic unguided bombs into

precision guided weapons. The acronym

means the Joint Direct Attack Munition.

Joint means that in 1990s both USAF and

USN cooperated on the weapon’s development. JDAM set consists of three parts

– guiding system based on GPS coordinates, longitudinal fins attached to the

bomb’s body improving its ability to glide and control surfaces installed on the

bombs tail. The sets are manufactured in

three sizes and USAF or USN use them on

the bombs from 500 lbs to 2000 lbs. That

means they should be easily adapted and

the modifications for application on the

Soviet-made Ukrainian bombs should not

present any obstacle (as far as the measurements is concerned). The Washington

Post article indicates that the USA will not

supply the bombs, only these sets.

A bomb with JDAM set can be deployed in three different ways. Carried by an

airplane which simultaneously carries

a container for searching and aiming at

the targets (for example Sniper or LI-

INFO Eduard

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