Ukrainian drone strike disables key Russian radar system
Ukrainians managed to attack the Russian Nebo-SVU radar. This is precious equipment for Putin's army, both financially and strategically. The details of this Ukrainian operation, which some observers describe as "daring," are fascinating.
This is primarily because the incident occurred as far as 70 kilometres from the main front line. Such a distance required the Ukrainians to have very good aerial surveillance and an exact strike with long-range weapons. According to reports published by Ukrainian channels monitoring the ongoing conflict, a drone named "Rekin" and American HIMARS rocket artillery were used here.
Attack on the Russian Nebo-SVU radar
This is not the first time Ukrainians have attacked important Russian positions using the M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System). The weapon, developed by Lockheed Martin, is valued for its mobility and accuracy (thanks partly to the combination of inertial and satellite navigation). It most often uses MLRS rockets with a 22.6-centimetre calibre, allowing it to hit targets up to 70 to 80 kilometres away. It is also possible to use MGM-140 ATACMS missiles, which have a range of up to 300 kilometres.
The drones named "Rekin" are slowly becoming another source of pride for Ukrainians (they were developed by the company Ukrspecsystems), similar to uncrewed aerial vehicles "Baba Yaga."
These drones enable aerial reconnaissance within a range of about 80 kilometres and can stay in the air continuously for up to 4 hours. Previously published recordings have shown that they perform very well as companions to Western artillery.
What exactly was the target for the Ukrainians?
Nebo-SVU is a Russian radar designed for air control, developed as a successor to Nebo-SV. It is intended to detect and track various types of airborne objects. It can determine the position of even modern flying objects equipped with multiple cloaking technologies, including stealth technology.
It also provides a long-range; for aircraft flying at an altitude of 500 metres, it is about 64 kilometres, but for aircraft flying at 20 kilometres, the range of the Nebo-SVU is up to 400 kilometres. The Russians have repeatedly claimed that the information collected by the Nebo-SVU can be used, for example, in S-300 or S-400 ground-to-air missile systems.
