Russian missile barrage challenges Ukraine's air defense tactics
The Russians conducted an attack on the Ukrainian energy sector using as many as 93 missiles and nearly 200 drones. One of the key components of Ukraine's defense are mobile intervention groups equipped with handheld anti-aircraft systems. Here's what they use and what they target.
4:13 PM EST, December 13, 2024
The Russians continue a winter missile attack on Ukraine, aiming to destroy the country's energy and heating infrastructure. Apart from the very few medium-range anti-aircraft systems capable of countering ballistic missiles like the Iskander-M, the key to effective defense are mobile intervention groups hunting drones and cruise missiles.
Their task is to intercept targets several hundred miles before they reach their destination, reducing the number of missiles reaching locations such as Kyiv. The Russians launch drones and cruise missiles from the Ch-101 family in such a way that they approach the target from different directions. Their low flight altitude effectively limits detection. For this reason, intervention groups and, for example, F-16 aircraft patrolling potential attack paths are very effective.
In the video below, you can see one of these groups firing at a Russian Ch-101 cruise missile with a large-caliber machine gun and a handheld anti-aircraft launcher resembling a 9K38 Igla.
Handheld 9K38 Igla systems — technology from the USSR era
Until the delivery of similar-class systems from the West, like American FIM-92 Stinger launchers or Polish PPZR Piorun, the main anti-aircraft weapon of the Ukrainian infantry was the 9K38 Igla systems, introduced into service in the USSR in the 1980s.
These systems weigh about 39 pounds, with the missile itself weighing approximately 24 pounds, capable of engaging targets at distances of up to about 3 miles. The destruction of the target is achieved by a fragmentation warhead weighing about 3 pounds, containing 0.86 pounds of HMX explosive.
Precise targeting is ensured by a dual-band guidance system using infrared and ultraviolet sensors. The first detects a heat source like a turbojet engine, and the second homes in on an ultraviolet source. This design allows them to ignore ordinary flares because they do not emit the ultraviolet signature typical of jet engines.
For this reason, they are ideal for countering, for example, Su-25 attack aircraft, helicopters, and low-flying Ch-101 cruise missiles carrying a 1,058-pound warhead.
