Ukrainian air defense against Russian Geraniums. Means and causes of failure
"Geranium-2" in flight. Photo AFP
In October 2022, the Russian army carried out an attack on Ukrainian targets for the first time using Geran-2 strike unmanned aerial vehicles. Now this technique is used regularly and causes serious damage to the enemy. Ukrainian formations quickly assessed the threat from the new Russian UAVs and are trying to take various measures. However, attempts to modernize air defense to combat "Geraniums" have not yet yielded the desired result.
The nature of the threat
The product "Geran-2" is a tailless UAV with a wingspan of up to 3 m and a mass of about 200-250 kg. The device is equipped with an internal combustion engine with a pusher propeller. The flight speed does not exceed 170-200 km / h, but a range of at least 1000-1500 km is achieved. The flight is carried out at altitudes from tens of meters to 3-4 km.
The drone is capable of hitting targets with known coordinates. For this, an autopilot with integrated means of satellite and inertial navigation is used. According to various estimates, it is possible to create a UAV modification with a full-fledged homing head. A high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing 50 kg is delivered to the target.
"Geran-2" is distinguished by its simplicity and low cost of construction, which allows mass production and use of such UAVs. Partially plastic airframe makes it difficult to detect the device by radar, and inertial navigation makes it immune to electronic warfare systems.
German ZSU Gepard. Photo Telegram / "Vestnik PVO"
Detecting, suppressing or knocking out an attack drone of this kind is quite difficult. At the same time, cheapness allows organizing massive raids, and the loss of even a few UAVs will have little effect on the success of the entire event. As a result, the Russian Geranium-2s have become a serious threat to the Ukrainian military infrastructure, and the Kyiv forces cannot cope with it.
At the moment, "victories" over Russian UAVs take place only in the statements of Kyiv officials and structures. After each raid, they report on the successful destruction of a large number of drones and missiles. As it turned out recently, the declared number of downed products sometimes exceeds the number of actually launched ones. In this case, the intended targets are hit.
Barrel means
Already in mid-October, immediately after the first attacks, the Ukrainian formations began to look for ways to deal with the Russian Geraniums. They noticed that the UAV has a low speed and approaches its target at a low altitude. In this regard, an unreasonably bold idea appeared about the fundamental possibility of combating drones with the help of small arms. weapons.
Last fall, videos were massively published - and caused a corresponding reaction - videos of attempts by Ukrainian militants to fire at Gerani with machine guns and machine guns. Naturally, no noticeable results were obtained. However, these ideas have been developed. Already last year, the mass assembly of specialized "anti-aircraft self-propelled guns" in the form of a car with several machine guns began. There is no confirmed information about the successful use of such a technique.
Skynex complex on a car base. Rheinmetall Photos
Last summer, foreign countries promised Kyiv full-fledged Gepard-type ZSU. In the fall, German-made vehicles began to be considered as a means of combating attack UAVs. It is known about attempts to use "Cheetahs" to cover important objects; photo and video materials were published, allegedly showing the defeat of the Geraniums. However, in general, foreign ZSU, originally created to deal with low-altitude air targets, performed poorly.
At the end of February, it became known that the German-Swiss artillery systems Skyguard and Skynex had already set off for Ukraine. Automated turrets with 35-mm guns were positioned as a modern and effective tool for combating UAVs. However, no information about their use and the defeat of air targets has yet been received.
The reasons for the failures of barreled air defense systems are obvious. Thus, handicraft anti-aircraft installations use a visual method of target detection and weapon guidance, which cannot provide sufficient accuracy of fire. Pointing problems are compounded by the limited capabilities of small arms not designed for effective anti-aircraft fire. Full-fledged ZSU Gepard are devoid of these shortcomings - they have their own radar and are armed with 35-mm cannons. However, there were too few of them, and there were also problems with the supply of ammunition, etc.
The British Stormer HVM air defense system handed over to Ukraine. Photo Telegram / BMPD
Missile systems
Until the beginning of last year, Ukraine had a fairly numerous and developed fleet of anti-aircraft missile systems and systems of all major classes, mostly of Soviet design. In 2022, active deliveries of foreign air defense systems began, and a number of samples were decided to be transferred after the first Geranei-2 attacks. It was assumed that the remaining fleet of Soviet systems and products delivered from abroad would cope with the reflection of such raids.
According to reports, Ukrainian air defense is trying to use almost all available air defense systems against Russian UAVs and cruise missiles. Portable complexes, as well as military and facility defense systems, are used. Accordingly, a wide range of radars and anti-aircraft missiles is used.
Despite boastful reports, the real effectiveness of Ukrainian air defense systems remains extremely low. As practice has shown, air defense, built on Soviet components such as various Os, Strel, S-300, etc., cannot cope with the detection and defeat of Geraniums. Apparently, when developing this UAV, Russian engineers took into account the air defense features of potential adversaries and took appropriate measures. Foreign complexes Stinger, NASAMS, Patriot, etc. did not improve the situation.
NASAMS SAM launcher in Ukraine. Photo Telegram / "Military informant"
Now deliveries of new imported air defense systems are expected and are being carried out, and some of them are positioned specifically as a means of combating UAVs. In particular, the VAMPIRE missile system, equipped with the APKWS guided missile (modified version aviation Hydra 70) with laser beam guidance. How successful such an anti-aircraft complex will be is a big question.
The prerequisites for the current situation should be sought in the design of Russian UAVs and Ukrainian air defense systems, as well as in the methods of using the latter. "Geran-2" was created taking into account a slight decrease in visibility, which makes it difficult to detect and subsequently target missiles. At the same time, drones often hide from radars at low altitude, use the terrain and fly along the least dangerous routes.
It is known that the Kiev regime places air defense systems and other systems among urban areas and civilian infrastructure in order to create a “human shield”. However, the urban landscape can interfere with the normal view of the area by the radar forces, and also imposes restrictions on missile launches. In fact, additional dead zones are created, and there is also a risk of missile hitting houses or various buildings. As a result, the overall effectiveness of such air defense falls, which contributes to a freer flight of strike weapons.
air battles
There are reports of attempts to intercept the "Geranei" by fighter aviation forces. The Kiev regime reports on the success of such events, but in reality everything is different, and there are virtually no reasons for boasting.
VAMPIRE complex for APKWS missiles. Photo Telegram / BMPD
There are only a few confirmed attempts to shoot down the Geran-2 UAV with air-to-air weapons. At the same time, at least one such episode was conditionally successful and at the same time curious. The Ukrainian pilot on the MiG-29 was able to blow up the drone in the air, but the shock wave and shrapnel damaged his plane. The pilot ejected and the fighter crashed. Ukrainian propaganda tried to make a hero out of this pilot and talked about his heroic struggle with Geranium. The unequal exchange of an aircraft for a cheap drone was diligently ignored.
The Ukrainian Air Force cannot effectively fight Geraniums for several reasons. First of all, this is the moral and physical obsolescence of aviation equipment and its weapons. Fighters with old radars and missiles cannot timely detect, confidently escort and hit a modern UAV. In addition, there are questions about the level of training of pilots who are still able to participate in combat work.
Results and prospects
The Russian army has been using Geran-2 strike UAVs for the past few months, and during this time they have hit hundreds of various enemy ground targets. Despite all the efforts of the Ukrainian air defense, the bulk of the products successfully break through to the intended targets and destroy them. At the same time, Geraniums are not the only means for hitting distant targets. Usually they are used simultaneously with sea and air-based cruise missiles, which improves the overall results of the strike.
At the moment, the enemy, despite all his efforts and assistance from third countries, cannot fight our UAVs. The existing and expected anti-aircraft weapons do not show the required effectiveness. It may be possible to change the situation in the future, but this scenario is not guaranteed. In addition, until the Kyiv regime has a suitable weapon, the Russian Geraniums will have time to inflict additional damage on it, and a new rearmament will simply be too late.
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