Air defence system, not anti-missile defence system: the Air Forces explain why not all missiles can be shot down

Valentyna Romanenko — Tuesday, 14 June 2022, 18:04

Ukraine has deployed an air defence system that is designed to hit enemy aircraft and helicopters but is not always effective against Russian missiles.

Source: Speaker of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Ignat at a briefing on 14 June

Direct speech: "The Ukrainian Air Force is on duty in the unified air defence system. We are armed with an anti-air, not an anti-missile defence system (as in Poland or Romania).

The main target of our anti-aircraft missile systems (Buk M1, S300) is enemy aircraft, that is planes and helicopters of various types. Despite everything, we also shoot down cruise missiles, but unfortunately, not all of them. This is an extremely difficult goal."

Details: Yurii Ignat explained that Russia uses high-tech missiles (since 2010), designed in such a way as to be inconspicuous, which can fly at ultra-low altitudes - beginning at 50 metres (so at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the enemy launched them along the Dniester riverbed). They are difficult to detect, and in some situations, such missiles simply disappear from the radar. And not all air defence systems can destroy them..

At the same time, the speaker of the Air Forces gave assurances that during the 8 years of war with Russia, Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners have learned to shoot down such ordnance, using the example of Reis drones - a target that accurately imitates a cruise missile.