Media: Ukrainian air defences struggle against Russian Iskander missiles

Strikes carried out by Russia’s Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile systems against Ukraine’s air defence network are rendering it increasingly ineffective, according to Military Watch Magazine (MWM).

The authors say that while Western allies have significantly downplayed the capabilities of Russian missile systems, Ukrainian commanders have repeatedly pointed out that US-made Patriot air defence systems are unable to provide effective protection against Iskander strikes.

“Ukraine’s air defences have been increasingly severely depleted,” they noted.

Ukrainian and Western officials warned in October that the Patriot system’s success rate against missile strikes involving the Iskander-M and Kinzhal was as low as 6 per cent, while the cost of attempting an interception significantly exceeded the expense of launching a ballistic missile attack.

In early October, the head of communications for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, Yuri Ignat, pointed to the capability of Iskander ballistic missiles to adopt updated flight profiles and more sophisticated trajectories designed to evade interception.

“This complicates the work of Patriot, because the system operates in automatic mode when intercepting ballistic missiles. It becomes harder to calculate the point where the interceptor missile will collide with or detonate near the enemy missile,” he said.

Russian forces are using this approach to weaken the opponent’s defences, the publication notes.

During the 24 hours, electronic warfare units are reported to have tracked and monitored 703 aerial targets, including 19 ballistic missiles from the Iskander-M system.

Each Iskander-M brigade comprises 51 vehicles, including 12 transporter erector launchers and 12 reload vehicles, which, between them, can deploy 48 missiles simultaneously.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov