France will transfer obsolete Crotale NG air defense systems to Ukraine
Tractor with a Crotale NG SAM launcher on a trailer
The French leadership continues to provide military-technical support to the Kyiv regime. In order to restore air defense, they now plan to transfer anti-aircraft missile systems to him. According to the press, these may be Crotale NG products. Several of these systems will be taken in combat units of the French army.
Reaction to events
France's new plans in the field of military-technical assistance to Ukraine were announced on October 12 by President Emmanuel Macron. In an interview for the France 2 TV channel, he drew attention to the latest Russian strikes on critical Ukrainian infrastructure and announced new measures to support the friendly regime.
According to E. Macron, in the coming weeks, the French leadership is going to send radar stations and anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine. With their help, it is planned to protect Ukrainian facilities from Russian missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. What kind of radar and air defense systems will be transferred and in what quantities, the French president did not specify.
On the same day, new information about future deliveries was published by Sky News. Citing an unnamed source familiar with the situation, it writes that Crotale NG-type air defense systems will be sent to Ukraine. Such systems will have to intercept targets at short ranges and medium altitudes. The number of vehicles preparing for the transfer is unknown.
Information about the radar station for Ukraine is not yet available. However, it should be remembered that the Crotal air defense system has its own detection and tracking locators. The President of France could have had in mind this particular air defense component.
Launcher Trailer Under Deployment
It should be noted that Crotale NG will be only the second French-made air defense system transferred to Ukraine. Previously, France supplied only Mistral man-portable anti-aircraft systems. Whether such deliveries will continue will become clear later.
Decades in service
The current Crotale NG air defense system is distinguished by its considerable age, and its story dates back to the late sixties. It was then that the French company Thomson-Houston (now Thales Group), together with the American Rockwell International, commissioned by the South African Army, began developing a new air defense system. The project bore the working designations Crotale ("Rattlesnake") and R440.
In the early seventies, Crotal was tested and entered service with the South African army under the name Cactus. In addition, the French armed forces became interested in him, and the development of two new projects started. It was required to create a land mobile complex for air defense units of the Air Force and a unified ship system. In the middle of the decade, the Crotale and Crotale Naval air defense systems entered service.
In the late eighties, a deep modernization of the complex called Crotale NG (Next Generation) was carried out. While maintaining the basic solutions, all the main components were replaced, which led to a significant increase in performance characteristics. In 1990, new missiles and other means went into series. The transition to Crotale NG continued until the middle of the decade.
Crotal systems were actively exported. For half a century, almost a dozen countries have acquired them. Almost all customers bought products in the original configuration, and special modifications were created for Saudi Arabia and South Korea. In addition, China and Iran have set up production of their unlicensed versions of Crotale.
The last modernization of Crotale took place in the early tenth years. Its main goal was the introduction of new means of detection and tracking. Other systems and weapon have not undergone major changes. Combat performance has generally improved.
According to known data, now the French Air Force has only 12 Crotal-NG air defense systems. The staffing of the complex includes one command post and two launchers. The air defense systems are in service with four squadrons responsible for the protection of large air bases. Each such unit has three complexes.
Earlier, the French Ministry of Defense planned to gradually abandon the Crotale NG complexes due to moral and physical obsolescence. The write-off of the last products was scheduled for 2025. Now, apparently, such plans will be adjusted. Several air defense systems are planned to be sent to Ukraine, and the number of equipment in service will be reduced - or it will be completely abandoned.
Technical features
The Crotale NG, designed for the French army, is a mobile short-range air defense system designed for long-term work in position and protection of important objects. It includes a command post in a container version on a truck chassis, two trailers with launchers and radar equipment, anti-aircraft missiles, and various auxiliary equipment.
The launcher is made in the form of a full-rotation module mounted on a trailer. On the sides of the module there are oscillating installations for missile containers, a tracking radar antenna and an optical-electronic station are placed in front. On top of the module is a foldable surveillance radar antenna.
The search for air targets is carried out using a Ku-band radar with a passive phased array. The tracking range of a typical target is 30 km. Regular OLS, in the absence of interference, allows you to monitor at distances up to 18-20 km. Target tracking during firing is carried out by an S-band Doppler radar; range - 20 km. All data from surveillance equipment is transmitted to the command post, where it is processed and issued to operators.
Launcher simulates combat mode
As part of the Crotale NG project, a new VT-1 anti-aircraft missile was developed. This product is 2,3 m long and 165 mm in diameter in a cylindrical case with "duck" planes. Starting weight - 73 kg. The product has a standard layout with a bow placement of guidance devices, a warhead in the center and an engine in the tail.
The missile does not have a homing head and is controlled by radio command. The automation of the ground part of the air defense system monitors the target and the missile, and also generates and sends commands to the ammunition to correct the course. One complex can fire only one target at a time. Productivity - up to 4 starts per minute.
The VT-1 is equipped with a high-explosive directional warhead weighing 15 kg. An infrared non-contact fuse is used, which works at a distance of up to several meters.
The maximum flight speed of the VT-1 reaches 1250 m/s. Launch range - 10 km, altitude - 6 km. The missile is capable of hitting targets flying at speeds up to 500 m/s. Available overload - 35 units.
Deprecated Help
At the time of its appearance, the Crotale NG air defense system was generally a successful and modern model. When working as part of a layered air defense system, he could show high performance and fully realize his technical potential. However, a lot of time has passed since then, and the complex, despite all the updates, is morally obsolete. In this regard, in the foreseeable future, France was going to remove it from service.
Now the plans have changed - several air defense systems will be decommissioned right now and transferred to Ukraine. And such a step is no different from previous episodes of assistance. A foreign state, assuring the Kyiv regime of good intentions, transfers unnecessary obsolete equipment with low performance to it. At the same time, the French Air Force is freeing up space in parts for the purchase of modern air defense systems.
Launchers without missiles. You can consider radar and optical means
Obviously, such supplies will not help the Ukrainian regime in any way, and this result is predetermined by several factors. First of all, this is a small amount of technology. France can provide no more than 12 complexes - 12 command posts and 24 launchers. This is simply not enough to make up for the air defense losses suffered in recent months. Also questionable is the possibility of organizing cover even for certain important areas, incl. with the involvement of the remaining air defense systems of other types.
It should be noted that Crotal-NG is a short-range system and has height restrictions. It can work effectively only in layered air defense, performing the functions of the last line of defense. The absence of other radars and air defense systems reduces the achievable effectiveness of defense, and also increases the risks for the complex itself.
Of great importance is the obsolescence of technology. A technically advanced military, such as the Russian one, can easily detect the positions of such an air defense system, and then suppress or destroy it. At the same time, work in a stationary position becomes an additional factor threatening the security of the complex.
The predictable finale
Thus, the foreign state once again solves its political and technical problems at the expense of the Kyiv regime. Ukrainian formations are once again promised real weapons, but again we are talking about a small number of outdated systems with limited characteristics.
The future of the Crotale NG air defense systems planned for delivery is generally predictable. Individual samples may become trophies of the Russian army, while others will be destroyed or disabled. The Kyiv regime would not gain any benefit from such a technique, but the French "virtues" do not seem to care.
Information