Ukraine uses small impact balloons
Ukrainian MVSh shot down at the end of March
The armed forces of the Kyiv regime have found a new way to attack Russian territory. Now they are trying to use small balloons with a combat load. For objective reasons, the combat effectiveness and military value of such aircraft is extremely low. In fact, they are only suitable for single strikes for the purpose of terror. At the same time, the appearance of such means may indicate new problems for Ukrainian formations.
Discovered and struck
The appearance of small-sized attack balloons (SMB) by the enemy first became known less than a month ago. At the end of March, the domestic online publication Mash reported the first interception of such an aircraft. IN news the main features of the enemy MVP and its functions were given, and photographs of the downed product were published. At the same time, the time, place and details of the interception were not specified.
On April 16, the enemy's military aircraft first appeared in the official news of the Ministry of Defense. In the morning, the department reported the successful interception and destruction of such an air target over the Kursk region. It was noted that the enemy was trying to carry out a terrorist attack using a balloon. No information was provided about the target hit and the method of interception.
The next day, "Mash" again raised the topic of enemy MVS. According to him, the day before, Ukrainian formations tried to use several such products at once. One of them was hit over the Kursk region - it was probably the ball from the previous message from the Ministry of Defense. Another one was shot down in the airspace of the Lipetsk region.
New photographs of the MVSh and their payload were also published. As it turned out, the enemy not only uses weapons, but also takes measures to make it difficult to detect, identify and destroy flying balls. However, as the news of recent weeks show, such attempts do not give the desired result, and Russian air defense is confidently fighting the new threat.
On the afternoon of April 17, the leadership of the Bryansk region announced the next appearance of Ukrainian military aircraft over Russian territory. Air defense detected and shot down three air targets identified as weather balloons.
Shell and payload in the form of a mine from an MVSh shot down in mid-April
It is quite possible that the enemy’s use of combat MVSh was not limited to only the cases mentioned in official reports and in the press. More balloons could have been launched, but a significant portion of them simply did not reach their intended targets or did not enter Russian airspace. In addition, the Ministry of Defense may not disclose all cases of interception of such targets, and media sources do not have all information of this kind.
Simplest design
The few available materials allow us to imagine how the new strike weapons of the Kyiv regime are structured. Shot down MVSh are characterized by extreme simplicity of design and are made using available components. Such a product can be assembled in artisanal conditions with virtually no industry involvement.
The basis of the aircraft is a soft shell filled with light gas. Apparently, the shells of standard weather balloons that were available in Ukrainian warehouses or received from abroad are used. Refueling is carried out on the ground before launch. There are no means for pumping or dumping gas as they are unnecessary.
Using a cable or cables, the remaining elements are suspended from the cylinder. Thus, the impact MVSh is equipped with a special controller unit. It is equipped with a satellite navigation receiver and simple control electronics. The unit also has a mechanism for suspending the combat load on an additional cable. Reset is carried out by command from the control system. Plastic water bottles are used as ballast to provide the desired flight performance.
A balloon can carry different loads. Thus, the model shot down in March was equipped with an ultra-light “air bomb” made from available ammunition. It is reported that the MVSh shot down recently had a different cargo. One was equipped with a kilogram assembly of TNT blocks, and an 81-mm mortar mine was attached to the other. Obviously, other load options are possible - they depend on the load capacity of the loaded casing and the availability of ammunition.
The enemy also launches weather balloons as standard. Such a product consists of a shell with gas, a corner reflector and an additional weight. There is no need for any control systems.
Corner reflector and weather balloon ballast
The principles of using MVP are quite simple. The crew delivers these products to the launch position and prepares them for flight. The shell is filled, and the controller receives a flight task in the form of coordinates of the intended target. Apparently, instead of point objects, electronics are aimed at entire areas - cities, towns, etc.
Like any other balloon, the impact MVSH has no controls and flies at the will of the wind. The time and place of launch must be determined in such a way that the air currents will carry the balloon to the intended target. If he manages to get into a given area, the automation gives the command to drop the payload.
Ammunition balloons can be accompanied by simple weather balloons. The latter serve as decoys and should distract air defenses. Due to this, the enemy expects to increase the likelihood of solving a combat mission with strike MVSh.
Obvious Problems
Ukrainian formations came up with something new weapon and try to apply it, but the results are far from expectations. About combat MVSh is known only from the news about their successful defeat, and there is no information about the “bombing” of Russian objects. This result is predictable, and one can expect that in the future Ukrainian balloons will remain a useless technical curiosity.
MVSh with combat load do not make sense and have no prospects for a number of reasons. The main thing is the lack of ability for controlled flight in the desired direction or along the required course. Even a careful calculation of weather conditions does not guarantee that the ball will hit the required area and hit even a large area target, not to mention pinpoint and camouflaged military targets. Taking into account the geography of the border regions and other factors, one can expect that the bulk of Ukrainian flights will simply fly past populated areas.
A typical weather balloon has limited lifting capacity. It can only lift the control unit, as well as several explosives or a mortar mine. The low power of the combat load aggravates the problem of lack of control. Both of these factors virtually guarantee the absence of military results.
Russian military personnel are preparing to launch a weather balloon
A MVSh with TNT or a mine is capable of causing noticeable damage only when attacking populated areas and their population, and only with the appropriate combination of factors. As our Ministry of Defense correctly notes, such attacks are terrorist in nature. However, even in this capacity, balloons will remain ineffective.
Balloons with a soft polymer shell and small suspended units are considered an inconspicuous target, but in practice everything turned out to be different. Russian airborne surveillance systems detect enemy aircraft and provide target designation to fire weapons. Such an object can be hit by any method, starting from small arms - any damaging element is guaranteed to cause the ball to fall.
Most likely, the enemy understands all the shortcomings of his combat missiles and takes them into account when planning attacks. One can even assume that these products have a different purpose, and the shock function is only a useful addition. Thus, weather balloons with reflectors or with a combat load can be used as decoys to increase the load on Russian air defense.
In addition, in this way they can try to cover flying Drones-kamikaze. In recent weeks and months, there has been increased activity of Ukrainian UAVs and numerous attempts to reach objects on our territory. The vast majority of such air targets are successfully shot down - and the enemy loses equipment without the desired result. It is possible that the supply of drones is being depleted, and now Ukrainian forces are forced to plan raids more carefully. UAVs have to be camouflaged and protected from inevitable detection and destruction using available means.
Reason for optimism
Small, weapon-loaded balloons may pose some threat to cities and their populations, but this should not be overestimated. In addition, the events of recent weeks show that such products, like other strike weapons of Ukrainian formations, are easily detected and damaged by our air defense.
With all this, the appearance of shock MVSh shows the general degree of degradation of the Ukrainian armed formations and their materiel. Apparently, they no longer have enough combat UAVs even for terrorist attacks, and because of this they are switching to converted weather balloons. All this points to the success of the Russian army in the demilitarization of the Kyiv regime.
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