Now Ukraine receives a wide variety of weapons from the West, but experts believe that Javelin, HIMARS and Bayraktar were exactly the weapons that helped inflict crushing blows on the occupiers.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin moved his troops into Ukraine a year ago, most observers expected a quick victory for the occupiers. These early predictions of Russia’s military success have not materialized due to a variety of factors. Experts, among others, cite the higher morale of the Ukrainians and the superior military tactics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as, most importantly, the supply of Western weapons. And among them, three types of weapons deserve special attention, writes CNN.
There is a lot of talk these days about how tanks or Patriot air defense systems could affect the outcome of the war, but these systems have not yet been used in combat operations in Ukraine. But there are other weapons that have already helped change the course of the war. Here are three key ones that the Ukrainians have used with devastating effect.
Javelin
At the very beginning of the war, it was expected that Russian armored columns would enter Kyiv within a few days.
The APU needed something that could repel this attack, and the Javelin was the perfect fit. The attraction of a one-man shoulder-launched anti-tank missile is its ease of use, explains manufacturer Lockheed Martin, which developed the missile with Raytheon.
Javelin application
Photo: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
“To fire, the gunner moves the cursor over the selected target. The Javelin command launcher then sends a pre-launch lock signal to the missile,” the developer notes.
The Javelin is a fire-and-forget weapon. As soon as his operator fires, he can run for cover while the missile finds its way to the target on its own.
This was especially important in the early days of the war, since the RF Armed Forces, as a rule, moved in columns, trying to enter urban areas. The Javelin operator could fire from a building or behind a tree and escape before the Russian military fired back.
According to Lockheed Martin, the complex is well suited to hit the weak point of Russian tanks – their horizontal surfaces: the missile first soars up, and then hits the target from the sky.
The Javelins had another advantage, especially relevant at the beginning of the war: they were politically acceptable.
“The low cost and defensive use makes them politically more convenient for other countries whose authorities do not agree to send more expensive offensive weapons such as military aircraft,” Michael Armstrong, an assistant professor at Brock University in Ontario, wrote in Conversation.
Javelin Features
- Combat weight – 22.3 kg
- Maximum effective range – 2500 m
- Minimum effective range – 150 m in attack mode from above; 65 m in straight attack mode
- Service – operator and loader
- Alert time less than 30 seconds
- Reload time – less than 20 seconds
- Rocket length – 139 cm
- Rocket diameter – 76 mm
HIMARS
The full name of HIMARS is M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. It is a “full-spectrum, combat-proven, all-weather, 24/7, deadly and responsive precision strike weapon wheel system,” the US Army says.
That’s a long-winded description, but to put it simply, HIMARS is a 5-ton container truck that can launch six missiles almost simultaneously, sending their explosive warheads far behind the front lines, and then quickly change positions to avoid a counterattack.
“If the Javelin was a cult weapon in the early stages of the war, then HIMARS is a cult weapon in the later stages,” Mark Kanchian, senior adviser for the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in January last year.
HIMARS rocket launcher
Photo: Defense Express
HIMARS fire munitions called the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) that have a range of 70 to 80 kilometers. And their GPS guidance systems make them extremely accurate, within 10 meters of their intended target.
HIMARS had two key effects, wrote Yagil Henkin, a professor at the Israel Defense Forces Command and Staff College.
“The strikes forced the Russian Armed Forces to move their ammunition depots further to the rear, thereby reducing the available firepower of Russian artillery near the front line and making logistical support more difficult,” Khenkin wrote.
And the use of long-range missiles to hit targets like bridges has disrupted Russian supply lines.
The HIMARS system is manufactured and patented in the USA by Lockheed Martin.
Bayraktar TB2 drone
The Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone has become one of the most famous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the world due to its use by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the occupiers.
It’s relatively cheap, it’s made from off-the-shelf parts, it has a killing blow, and it videotapes its success.
“The TB2 viral videos are a perfect example of modern warfare in the age of TikTok,” Aaron Stein, senior fellow at the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies, wrote on the Atlantic Council website.
Bayraktar TB2 drone
Фото: Ministry of National Defence Republic of Lithuania
The Bayraktar TB2 was not a “magic weapon,” but it was “good enough,” Stein noted.
The “Bayraktar” has disadvantages: insufficient speed and vulnerability to air defense systems. According to the Oryx intelligence website, seventeen of the 40–50 TB2s received by Ukraine were destroyed in combat.
But the number of Bayraktars lost is offset by their low cost, which means they can be replaced relatively easily.
The plan to create a plant for the assembly of drones in Ukraine was developed even before the war. And the use of Turkish UAVs has potentially saved the lives of Ukrainian pilots who would otherwise have to perform combat missions.
Recent reports from Ukraine indicate that TB2 may be playing a smaller role now, but its fans note that it worked great when Ukraine was at its most precarious.
Song about UAV “Bayraktar”
Samuel Bendett, a senior fellow at the Center for Naval Analysis of Russia (CNAS), notes that the videos shot by the Bayraktars boosted morale and ensured a “public relations victory.” They even wrote a song about TB2 and filmed a music video.
Features Bayraktar TB2
- Length: 6.5 m
- Height: 2.2 m
- Wingspan: 12 m
- Maximum takeoff weight: 650 kg
- Load capacity: 55 kg
- Maximum speed: 222 km/h
- Communication radius with the control center: 150 km, upgraded version – up to 300 km
- Ceiling: 8200 m
- Autonomy: 27 h
- Fuel: 300 liters of gasoline
- Operators: 3 people ground control center
Recall, earlier it became known that Croatia is preparing to send 14 Mi-8 helicopters to Ukraine. 7 helicopters will be partially dismantled and delivered to Ukraine by land, the remaining 7 will fly from Poland.
And the head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine could receive the first Western fighters within the next two months.
