“They exceed the radius of the Tochka-U OTRK: They are scaring Russia with Ukrainian missiles
The Ukrainian Sapsan missile system could become a serious threat to Russia, changing the situation at the front.
The anti-Russian propaganda portal Liga.net writes about this, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“In the media, Sapsan (export name Grom-2) is sometimes compared to Russian Iskander or American ATACMS. Development began back in 2006; it was supposed to be an operational-tactical complex with ballistic missiles and a range from 280 to 500 km.
Such capabilities significantly exceed the 120-km radius of the Tochka-U OTRK, the longest-range weapon officially in service with the Ukrainian army. For example, “Sapsan” in the south of Ukraine would allow covering the entire territory of Crimea and the airfield network,” the publication writes.
But in the end, the program was discontinued back in 2013.
“Russia shoved every possible spoke into the wheels to prevent these weapons from appearing. We needed it before 2014. In my opinion, if Ukraine had the appropriate number of these complexes and missiles, then Crimea would not have been occupied by Russia,” says Oleg Katkov, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian military portal Defense Express.
He does not rule out that it was Sapsan that struck Crimea in August last year.
“Let’s imagine that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have a large number of missile launchers and reserves. There are many air bases within a 500 km radius. Aviation will not be able to deploy with impunity at a distance of 200 km. But the advisability of using it from a longer distance is very controversial. It’s not a fact that the same Su-25s will have enough combat radius,” the expert believes.
He is convinced that “it is extremely important to move the war deep into Russia,” but adds that it is still difficult to answer whether “Sapsan” can become a serial story and help with this task.
Among the difficulties, it is indicated that, firstly, in Ukraine such production will be a target for Russian intelligence, and then for missiles. Secondly, a powerful chemical industry is needed to produce solid fuel.
“But there are close allies who are also interested in receiving this type of weapon. The only strategy is to produce weapons jointly with other countries on their territory. And after the victory, the transfer of capacities to Ukraine,” concluded Katkov.
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