Russia has a number of air defense systems that include ground-based systems, fighter jets and radars, as well as electronic warfare equipment. Moscow also has one of the few permanent A-135 stationary anti-missile systems.
War in Ukraine
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Ukrainian soldiers (photo by SCANPIX)
Ukrainian soldiers (photo by SCANPIX)
War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
Ukrainian soldiers (photo by SCANPIX)
Ukrainian soldiers (photo by SCANPIX)
Ukrainian soldiers (photo by SCANPIX)
Ukrainian soldiers (photo by SCANPIX)
Ukrainian soldiers (photo by SCANPIX)
Ukrainian soldiers (photo by SCANPIX)
Ukrainian soldiers (photo by SCANPIX)
Ukrainian soldiers (photo by SCANPIX)
Ukrainian soldiers (photo by SCANPIX)
Causes panic and explosions
Russian systems have different range and altitude ranges, Dr. Marina Miron, postdoctoral researcher at King’s College London’s Department of Military Studies, told Newsweek.
Still, Ukraine continues to target territory deep in Russia using drones, causing panic and explosions in Moscow, targeting Russian oil refineries and targeting strategic bases. For example, such as the Kremlin Engels Long-Range Aviation Center in the Saratov region of Russia.
“The current Russian aerospace defense strategy, which is valid until 2030, does not address this type of technology, although the threat of drones has been recognized for quite some time,” said Mattias Ekens, a defense and security analyst in the European division of the RAND think tank.
“The Kremlin appears to have been surprised that its territory is vulnerable to drone strikes from Ukraine, including attacks on air bases such as Engels. Instead of formulating a coherent strategy, the Russian authorities usually reacted impulsively without any plan after the attacks on their territory. Russia’s challenge is not due to a lack of equipment, but due to the historically developed focus on a different threat,” said M. Ekenas.
War in Ukraine
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War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
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War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
War in Ukraine (photo by SCANPIX)
Encouraged to migrate systems
“The war in Ukraine has prompted Russia to move several of its air defense systems closer to the Ukrainian border. Russia’s Pancir-S1 is among the systems moved to plug the gaps and deployed on government buildings, but “the effectiveness of these systems remains unclear,” Eken said.
The analyst said there is some evidence to suggest that current short-range air defense systems, particularly the Pancir, struggle against small, lightweight drones. Footage of relatively cheap drones hitting the Pancir shows the problems are technological and related to how Russia deploys them.
In 2023, analyst Maksim Starczak wrote for the defense think tank The Jamestown Foundations that moving anti-aircraft defense systems from their original locations “jeopardizes their effectiveness” in defending cities like the capital against air threats such as cruise and ballistic missiles.
The British government said in November that Moscow had withdrawn air defense systems from its western outpost of Kaliningrad, which is surrounded by several NATO countries around the Baltic Sea, to replenish its stockpile of systems destroyed or damaged in Ukraine. Ukraine recently decommissioned a number of Russia’s advanced S-400 ground-based air defense systems, and the air defense redeployment showed Moscow was feeling “overstretched”, London said at the time.
Tags: Kremlins weak point apparent happening constantly weakening air defense
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