How British “makeshift” air defence system beats odds in Ukraine

A British "makeshift" air defence system called “Raven” has reportedly intercepted three Russian Kh-59 missiles and one Kh-101, along with many drones, in a short period of time.

The Raven system is adapted from the AIM-132 ASRAAM and is mounted on a vehicle chassis for ground launch. The weapon entered service with Ukraine in the spring of 2023. Since then, it has allegedly engaged more than 400 aerial targets with around a 70 percent success rate.

A fresh statement on the Ukrainian Air Command West social media, posted October 24, names the British-built Raven short-range air defence system as the launcher that has already destroyed four Russian missiles, three Kh-59s, one Kh-101 and 24 Russian strike and reconnaissance drones.

An article published by the Army Recognition platform points out that Raven is a rapid-response, truck-mounted launcher that fires the AIM-132 ASRAAM, adapted from its usual air-to-air role for surface launch. Built on the 6x6 Supacat HMT-600 chassis, it mounts twin missile rails repurposed from retired RAF Tornado, Hawk, and Jaguar aircraft and carries an electro-optical turret for target search and track.

British engineers delivered the ad hoc system in roughly three months and fielded the first vehicles to Ukraine in 2023; eight systems were later shown publicly, with plans for additional deliveries. Crews can operate the launcher remotely from a short standoff, a design choice that shortens reaction time and improves survivability after firing.

At the heart of the system, ASRAAM brings a high-off-boresight imaging infrared seeker, a lock-on-after-launch flight profile, and a dual-thrust motor that drives the 88-kilogram missile past Mach 3. In the ground-launched role, effective reach is commonly cited around 15 kilometres, with a 10-kilogram blast-fragmentation warhead and laser proximity fuze doing the terminal work.

The missile’s passive seeker lets Raven hunt without emitting radar energy, a crucial advantage against low-flying threats that try to mask under Ukraine’s radar horizon.

Russia’s Kh-59 is a subsonic air-launched cruise missile that typically skims in at 900 to 1,050 km/h using inertial navigation with terminal guidance options, making it a classic problem for point defences around troop concentrations, bridges, and depots. The Kh-101, by contrast, is Russia’s stealthier long-range ALCM used in deep-strike salvos from Tu-95MS and Tu-160 bombers; it flies terrain-hugging routes and is optimised to exploit gaps in radar coverage. Bringing either down with a short-range system is nontrivial and speaks to Raven’s cueing, seeker performance, and crew training.

According to the article, Raven gives Ukrainian commanders a mobile, silent ambush asset to plug seams in the layered shield that includes Patriot, SAMP/T, Buk, and IRIS-T. Crews can reposition along likely approach corridors, rely on EO/IR for acquisition, accept handoffs from local observers, and engage in seconds.

The system’s small visual and electromagnetic signature makes it harder for Russian targeting cycles to identify, while shoot-and-scoot tactics protect crews from counter-battery or loitering munitions retaliation. The recent report that a Raven team attempted to engage a Su-25 conducting rocket runs points to another mission set: deterring manned aircraft from pressing low over the FEBA, especially during glide-bomb or S-8 rocket attacks.

By Nazrin Sadigova