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Anti Aircraft Ukraine

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U.k. To Supply Stormer Anti Aircraft Armored Missile Launcher To Ukraine

A Ukrainian soldier with a ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun north-east of Kyiv on March 3. ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images

Both Russian and Ukrainian armed forces know that they need plenty of air defenses - including relatively low-tech anti-aircraft guns - to deal with jets, helicopters, drones and missiles in the Ukrainian skies.

Anti-aircraft artillery has been around since World War I, when machine guns and cannons were used to shoot down new rusting machines. During World War II, up to half of the Allied bombing raids on Germany may have involved "flak" casualties - a shortened version of the 1930s German word for anti-aircraft gun.

However, by the 1950s, fast high-altitude jets made cannons and machine guns less useful than guided missiles, which could fly at Mach 4 and reach altitudes of 100,000 feet.

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But Russia is now bombing Ukrainian cities and power plants with waves of drones and cruise missiles, and Ukraine is sending its drones to stop Russian tanks and artillery.

Using large, expensive, long-range surface-to-air missiles known as SAMs to stop low-tech drones like quadcopters is like using an elephant gun to stop sheep. The increasing reliance on relatively slow, low-flying rockets and airplanes has once again made the windfall inevitable.

"Anti-aircraft guns have been given less importance, but they should never be ignored," Nick Reynolds, a ground warfare expert at the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank, told Insider.

Reynolds has written a new RUSI study on air warfare over Ukraine that analyzes what Ukraine needs to combat Iran-made Shahid-136 “kamikaze” drones.

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The study calls on Western countries to send Ukraine anti-aircraft guns like the German-made Gepard and man-portable short-range air defense systems like the US-made Stinger missiles.

"In general, weapon systems are preferred over missiles when possible because the cost per mission is much lower and ammunition availability is higher than SAMs and MANPADS." The RUSI report says.

On September 15, a Russian 2K22 Tunguska self-propelled anti-aircraft gun was destroyed in eastern Ukraine. Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images

Both Russia and Ukraine use Soviet-made S-60 anti-aircraft guns from the 1940s. But even the latest Soviet-designed anti-aircraft guns, such as the Cold War-era ZSU-23-4 Shilka and 2S6 Tunguska used by both sides, have limited anti-drone capabilities.

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"Because of their relatively small size, shape, low altitude and low speed, older Soviet and Russian self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (SPAAGs) like the Shilka and the Tunska also have difficulty reliably shooting down the Shahid-136," RUSI report says.

The study ranks the German Gepard - a SPAAG with two 35mm guns first deployed in the 1970s - as "highly effective".

Berlin has pledged to send 50 Cheetahs - some of which have already been delivered - to Ukraine as part of the western anti-aircraft missile and artillery system. Some pundits also urged the United States to send the 1960s M163, a 20mm Vulcan cannon mounted on the M113 armored personnel carrier, though it lacked aircraft radar to detect targets.

German Chancellor Olaf Schulz inspects a Cheetah suicide anti-aircraft gun near Oldenburg on August 25. AXEL HEIMKEN/AFP via Getty Images

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Western-made SAMs are effective against Russian jets and cruise missiles, but Ukraine has not acquired enough additional anti-aircraft missiles to maintain its current firepower. MANPADS are good at shooting down "Kamikaze drones" and even cruise missiles, but their short range - combined with Ukraine's 1,000-mile frontline - means a huge need to protect troops up front and infrastructure to the rear. Anti-aircraft guns are economical against drones, but their range is short.

In conclusion, the report states that the Shahid-136 "is safe and not particularly difficult to intercept, but most current means of doing so are too expensive or require an excessive number of weapons for other defensive tasks." It does so as a temporary solution."

The old anti-aircraft guns also offer a political advantage. Countries supporting Ukraine have been reluctant to provide some high-tech weapons, including jet fighters and long-range missiles, for fear of Moscow's opposition.

Ukrainian forces with civilian-designed anti-aircraft machine guns in Mykolayiv on November 9. Vladimir Shtanku/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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But old-fashioned flak is a safer option, the RUSI report argues: "Neither MANPADS nor SPAAGs should be considered politically sensitive, as they are essentially a defensive weapon needed to protect civilian infrastructure, which is absolutely necessary in modern technology." is. The latter need not be required. effective."

Even as more sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons were deployed, anti-aircraft guns remained useful, albeit in more limited roles. They proved deadly in North Vietnam and the Middle East - during the October 1973 conflict, Israeli pilots diving low to avoid SAMs operated by Arab forces were often hit by Shilka and other anti-aircraft guns

Coupled with new anti-aircraft defenses, anti-aircraft guns can still be deadly against helicopters, attack jets and low-altitude drones, as many Russian aircraft have had to do in Ukraine.

"Medium- and long-range SAMs are most effective when complemented by a powerful network of anti-aircraft guns capable of threatening any aircraft attempting to evade high-altitude threats by flying low," Reynolds told Insider "Troubleshooting this species." of problems across the layers of different systems is an integral part of an integrated air defense network.”

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Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy Magazine, and other publications. He has a Masters in Political Science. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. Ukraine hopes NASAMS air defense systems will help prevent further damage to infrastructure from Russian attacks. Image: Tomas Kalnin/EPA-EFE

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said Monday that the country had acquired NASAMS and Apside air defense systems.

He tweeted: "We will continue targeting enemy targets.

Russia has ravaged Ukraine's infrastructure over the past month in a series of attacks that have destroyed about a third of the country's power plants and left many cities with frequent power outages.

Donetsk, Donetsk People Republic, Ukraine

NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) is a ground-based short- and medium-range air defense system developed by the Norwegian company Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace (KDA) and the American company Raytheon Technologies.

The White House said US support for the war effort in Ukraine was "unstable" even if Republicans, who have raised concerns about spending levels, win the midterm elections.

State Department spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre told reporters, "We are confident that US support will remain unwavering and unwavering."

She said President Joe Biden is determined to "work bipartisanly, as he is doing, to support Ukraine."

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However, the United States has the right to speak to Russia at the highest level about reducing the threat, the White House said, denying a report that National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan spoke to Moscow.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, an influential Russian businessman with ties to President Vladimir Putin, admitted Monday to meddling in the US election and said he would continue to do so.

“We have intervened, intervened and will continue to intervene. Carefully, precisely, surgically and in our own way," Prigozhin said in comments his spokesman posted on social media.

Prigozhin, dozens of other Russian nationals and three Russian companies were accused of conducting a covert social media campaign ahead of the 2016 US presidential election to sow discord and divide US public opinion.

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He had previously denied ties to Wagner's mercenary force, but in September 2014 admitted to having founded and financed it and has spoken openly about its involvement in the war in Ukraine.

For years, Wagner's group has been suspected of helping to realize Moscow's foreign ambitions, with the Kremlin denying any links.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said 50,000 Russian soldiers called up as part of his supply campaign are now fighting with combat units in Ukraine.

“We now have 50,000 people in their combat units. The rest are not yet taking part in the war,” Putin said during a tour of the Black Sea region near Moscow.

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He also said that a total of 80,000 newly recruited Russians were "in the area of ​​special military operations" -- that's what Russia calls its war in Ukraine -- while the rest of the troops were training in Russia and were in camps.

On November 4, Putin said a total of 318,000 had been drafted and 49,000 were in combat.

In September, Putin announced a "partial mobilization."

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