“If you see nothing, you can break nothing.” Ukrainian anti -aircraft, confronted with a new enemy
The Ukrainian air defense is facing a new threat: the rain and clouds hiding the Russian Kamikaze, informs The Kyiv Independent.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski recently said that the efficiency of the invaded air defense has decreased by “20-30%” as a result of the bad weather of the last period, according to Reuters.
As a result, more and more Russian drones are able to pass the Ukrainian defense, hitting the cities in the cities, causing victims among civilians.
On the ground, members of Ukrainian mobile aerial groups agree that bad weather is a challenge. Many units use rudimentary anti -aircraft technology, such as truck -mounted browning machine guns, and need to identify targets to be effective.
“A rear in the rain and snow can see up to 100-200 meters,” said Oleksiy, which coordinates the mobile air defense groups in the Kiev region. Usually, their ray of visibility is, he says, about 2,000 meters. “For this reason (bad weather, no) can have a substantial impact.”
Sol-air systems, such as the Soviet S-300 and the German Antia-Propulsed Anti-Air-Propulsed System, are also widely used in Ukraine's air defense, but Kiev's army is forced to save ammunition because stocks for both systems are decreasing. With a projectile shortage they also face the Patriot batteries, manufactured in the US.
The efficiency “sting”
Other local, more specialized solutions include a new generation of interceptional drones. One of the most prominent of these is “Sting”, a developed FPV drone to track and neutralize Shahed drones.
The Financial Times reported that Sting has shot down about 600 shahed drones and unanswered air vehicles until the beginning of October.
“If you see nothing, you can break nothing,” said Vyacheslav, one of the founders of Drone Wild Hornets manufacturer. “All drones are equipped with an optical camera for visual control, both terrestrial and aerial drones.”
“Unfortunately, Shahed flies under any weather conditions,” Oleksiy said.
The problem extends even to the thermovision rooms, equipment that facilitates nocturnal bombings on Russian positions, as well as for defense, because they can help detect Russian drones.
“The unfavorable weather conditions, such as the low altitude clouds, the rain, the snow and the fog, interfere with the visual location of the targets, even when using rooms with thermovisation,” said Ukrainian expert Anatoli Khrachynskyi for The Kyiv Independent. “That is why I further emphasize the need to implement a high quality radar coverage at low altitude.”
Waiting for the milder weather
Oleksiy agreed that radar coverage is the best solution, but, as always, the economic aspect is a problem. Radar systems like Rada Iemhr in Israel cost $ 1 million, he estimated, while even Ukrainian models are approaching $ 120,000.
There are many types of shahed drones, and some include their own visual guidance systems, but most of them follow predetermined coordinates.
On the other hand, Vyacheslav says that more soil-air missiles are the best solution to the dilemma that Ukrainian defenders have at this time, but these are just as expensive compared to machinery. For now, the current defense of Ukraine will have to resist until the weather is improved.
