Russia tests Ukrainian air defence with Shahed attack

98.7% - last night's air defence effectiveness rate (according to the updated information of the Air Force, 75 out of 76 air targets were destroyed, namely 74 out of 75 UAVs and 1 Kh-59 cruise missile). This is an excellent performance! We are grateful to the defenders of the Ukrainian sky!

A mono-attack with a single weapon does not make much sense on its own, as it has long been clear that chessboards are destroyed as massively as they are launched.

Obviously, the current act of terror from the air was intended to awaken genetic fear in Ukrainians, to remind them of the famine terror of 90 years ago.

But there is also another task set by the enemy - testing the operation of echelon air defence in the event of a massive use of one type of munition in the event of a concentrated attack in several waves from different directions. For this purpose, cheap Shahed drones were not spared.

This means that the current night attack was not an end in itself. It was prepared with a view to determining the optimal scheme for a future massive combined attack using various means of air strikes - UAVs, sea- and air-launched cruise missiles, as well as ballistic missiles. That is, the idea is that the first wave of massive launches of cheap Shahed drones will deplete air defences, followed by launches of expensive cruise missiles, including anti-radar missiles, in order to deprive air defences of "eyes", and with a short time lag - strikes with ballistic missiles carrying multiple warheads more powerful than UAVs.

It can be stated that last night's air defence actions did not give the enemy any reason for optimism. Of course, this does not mean that he will abandon his further plans.

For us, the task of "shielding" the perimeters of the border and the front line with mobile fire groups of "hunters" is becoming increasingly urgent. We also need "small aircraft" - low-speed turboprop Tukanos.

The further east the Shahed drones are destroyed by anti-aircraft artillery and heavy machine guns, the fewer of them will fly further into the depths of Ukraine's territory and the greater the stock of expensive missiles from Western air defence systems will be saved to destroy enemy cruise and ballistic missiles.

Source

About the author: Mykhailo Honchar, expert on international energy and security relations.

The editors don't always share the opinions expressed by the authors of the blogs.