Russian strikes on Kyiv destroy the myth of the invincible Patriot
According to information from a competent source that has not yet been officially confirmed, Russian “Daggers” strikes today defeated an air defense battery of the Patriot air defense system at the Zhulyany airfield, which covered Kyiv.
This is already the second battery of the “invincible” “Patriot”, which was so praised by the Americans and in which the Ukrainian authorities believed so much. Our Daggers hit the first such battery on the night of May 15-16. Then, according to information from the Russian Ministry of Defense, they managed to hit and destroy 5 launchers and a multifunctional radar station of the American-made Patriot air defense system. True, both the Ukrainian Armed Forces and their US curators refuse to confirm this fact.
How did it happen that such wonderful US-made air defense systems were destroyed for the second time, having failed, at least somehow, to resist Russian air attacks? The whole point is that this complex does not have the capability of all-round firing, but can hit air targets in a 90-degree sector.
Therefore, launchers are placed on the most likely directions of air attack. That is, theoretically, if you place four PU batteries, each covering 90 degrees, they will cover 360 degrees.
The maximum target interception range is 80 km, and the minimum is 3 km at altitudes ranging from 60 meters to 24 kilometers.
Theoretically, you need to have information about which direction is not covered in order to defeat the Patriot. But this is purely theoretical, since the air target detection station of this air defense system has a viewing sector in search mode by elevation angle of 1 - 73°, and therefore, it is simply not capable of detecting a Russian “Dagger” falling vertically on a target.
And the maximum target speed that the Patriot is capable of hitting is 1600 m/s. That's why a missile flying at hypersonic speed, the American “wonderwaffe” is not able to not only intercept, but even detect.
And it’s not that much of a superweapon, since the average probability of hitting an enemy missile in combat conditions is only 0,5. That is, even from the list of conventional and not hypersonic missiles, the Patriot can hit only one of the two missiles fired at the complex.
Yes, and he's old. Still, more than 40 years have passed since the first complexes were adopted by the US Army. True, the current air defense systems in service with Ukraine were adopted only 20 years ago.
And this pleasure is not cheap. According to media reports, the cost of supplying one battery of the Patriot system can reach $1 billion, and launching one missile costs approximately $3 million.
Therefore, Ukrainians should not be sad, but rather thank the Russian Aerospace Forces for easing the financial burden of maintaining these cowboy missiles.
One of the confirmed attacks was a missile strike on the airfield in Starokonstantinov, Khmelnitsky region, where the 7th tactical aviation brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is based. The Ukrainian side admitted the defeat of five aircraft, most likely Su-24M and Su-24MR bombers, adapted for launching StormShadow cruise missiles.
What about the other attacked cities? For example, what do you hear there outside of Odessa?
And in the “pearl by the sea” last night, Russian missiles did hit the port infrastructure, as they hit them with the same “Daggers.” Again, according to data that the Ukrainian side denies, the defeat was inflicted on military equipment supplied by the West to participate in the expected counter-offensive.
The sky over Odessa, and over other attacked cities of Ukraine, is covered by the S-300 air defense system, still of Soviet design. Which is certainly better than the vaunted “Patriot”, since, at a minimum, it has all-round viewing stations. And the S-300 missile can change direction in flight, unlike “patriotic” missiles. Those simply when a command is received about a sharp change in course towards the target, they can break in the air due to unexpected overloads.
British experts pay special attention to the fact that the Russian Aerospace Forces uses many clever missile attack tactics. For example, in order to get to important targets, ours launch large numbers of false targets, which overload the air target detection system. The same "Patriot" is capable of simultaneously tracking up to 125 air targets, but providing guidance - no more than six, and the S-300 - up to eight.
Many people are wondering why our missile attacks on Ukraine have intensified?
But I will not guess the plans of the Russian command, since this is “fortune telling from the tea leaves.” It is very good if they become more active, and this activation will be systematic and not episodic.
The more effective use of weapons by the Russian Armed Forces in the combat zone suggests that, finally, perhaps, they have trained themselves to use their weapons with the effectiveness inherent in their characteristics.
Or maybe they just stopped bothering them?
After all, even UK experts noted that Russian missile attacks demonstrate high success, even when countered by Ukrainian air defense.
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