Why Western air defense and missile defense systems will not help Ukraine

The complexes of the United States and NATO countries are no match for the Soviet air defense system.

The United States intends to supply Ukraine with “advanced strategic air and missile defense systems.” This was reported by CNN. What are the difficulties of creating an effective air defense and missile defense system in Ukraine, military observer Mikhail Khodarenko explains to us.

First, he notes that in CNN’s report on the transfer of air and missile defense systems to Ukraine, the accents are misplaced and terminological confusion is allowed.

“We are talking about the transfer to Ukraine of strategic missile defense systems, such as a ground-based mid-course missile defense system GMD (Ground-based Midcourse Defense), the coastal missile defense system Aegis Ashore and a mobile ground-based system for atmospheric interception of missiles THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area) at high altitude), even in the historically foreseeable period does not apply in principle. This issue is not raised or discussed,” he says

The Armed Forces of Ukraine can be equipped with medium- and long-range anti-aircraft missile systems and complexes capable of non-strategic missile defense, that is, capable of hitting ballistic missiles of operational-tactical and tactical missile systems. So, in fact, missile defense for Ukraine will be limited precisely to this framework.

Modern and promising anti-aircraft missile systems have not been delivered to the Ukrainian air defense forces since 1991, and today there are practically no competences of their own in the development and production of such weapons.

In this regard, the military-political leadership of Ukraine remains dependent on the supply of Western-made complexes. Among them, the Norwegian NASAMS system, the German IRIS-T complex and even the American-made Patriot PAC-3 system are currently named.

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“However, let’s try to imagine what the process of acquiring at least one Western-made regimental kit by the Ukrainian army will look like,” the analyst says and continues:

“First you need to find at least 500-700 soldiers of the anti-aircraft missile troops of the air defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (this is the approximate number of personnel of the anti-aircraft missile regiment). Then send them for retraining in one of the NATO countries.

After mastering the theoretical course, passing the relevant tests, the Ukrainian army should receive weapons and military equipment and perform the initial shot. And only after that, an anti-aircraft missile regiment can either be sent to the combat area or deployed to cover particularly important military installations or an administrative and political center.

“If all this is done, figuratively speaking, “running” and engaged in combat training for 12-14 hours a day, then even then the process will take at least several months. And this, we note, we are talking about only one force. And the Air Defense Forces of Ukraine need dozens of such regiments or brigades of anti-aircraft missiles.”

The fact is that all other weapons and automation systems at all levels of the air defense forces of Ukraine, or even Soviet-made, rely on Soviet authorities for the manufacture of reconnaissance radars, missiles and fighter air cover.

By acquiring only Western-made anti-aircraft systems – even with very high tactical and technical characteristics – in general, the problem of effective coverage of troops and facilities cannot be solved.

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The complexes of the United States and NATO countries are no match for the Soviet air defense system.

In other words, they are completely incompatible with sources of obtaining information about the air situation, with receiving target identification and distribution data, in general, with automation and communication complexes. American anti-aircraft guns simply cannot work with Soviet radars – radar stations, and there are simply none in Ukraine today.

Therefore, it is necessary for the collective West to supply Kyiv with weapons and military equipment for air defense along with radar systems, automation equipment (from company level to formation/connection level), electronic warfare systems. The implementation of this program – in case such a political decision is made and this is not obvious – will take several years and will cost the NATO countries … huge sums of money.

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