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Ukraine is rapidly increasing the power of its armed forces. The new R-360 cruise missile (CR) of the RK-360MC “Neptune” complex, adopted in August, will be sent to the army this year and, as Defense Minister Andriy Taran said, copies of it will be deployed in the regions. from the south with access to the Black and Azov seas.
The Neptune rocket was developed by the Kiev Luch design bureau on the basis of the Soviet X-35, but according to the authors of the project it has improved characteristics; experts see it as a serious threat to the security of Russia, including its strategic sites in Crimea.
“The missile is capable of flying very low over the surface, goes unnoticed and can effectively hit targets within a range of up to 300 km on land and water,” Ukrainian weapons developers previously said. According to Minister Taran, “the divisions armed with this complex will be located in the southern regions of Ukraine with access to the Black and Azov seas.”
These are very worrying data. In July 2019, the former secretary of the Defense and National Security Council of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, already tried to “intimidate” Russia by saying that the Neptunes could “destroy Russian ships in the Black and Azov seas in a few minutes, as well as El Crimean bridge “. And this year, the Commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Oleksiy Neizhpapa, told the media after another successful test of the CoR R-360 that Ukraine was preparing “for a full-scale military confrontation, acknowledging that if it did Unfortunately, it would mean great losses, and among our warriors and among the civilian population. ” According to him, “the range of the Neptune missile complex allows its use from the mainland of Ukraine in the approaches to Sevastopol.”
Commenting on the remarks, the former commander of the Russian Black Sea fleet, Admiral Vladimir Komoedov, said at the time that Ukraine’s navy could not cope with Russia and its navy: “they will not have enough forces.”
Other Russian experts also assessed Neptune’s capabilities as weak. For example, Mikhail Khodaryonok, a retired colonel, served in the Russian Air Defense Forces for some time and then was in charge of that department in the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. According to him, “the air defense of modern ships has become extremely saturated, multi-layered and effective today. Such air defense will easily shoot down a rocket like the Ukrainian” Neptune “in the approaches far from the ship’s command (in this case, training, etc.) without any special efforts and tactical tricks. ” He also pointed out that with land launches, “Neptune” missiles can be used in anti-aircraft operations to make it difficult for the enemy to land on the Ukrainian coast. And the attacking country will have to comply with this. It refers to some naval operations, the use “Neptunes” is very weak so far “.
We will note that the “reports that Russia is planning a military operation in southern Ukraine” made in some media months ago were defined by Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov as nonsense and a manifestation of anti-Russian hysteria. However, there are reasons to take the threats from Kiev too seriously. According to Alexander Ovchinikov, a reserve lieutenant colonel who, like Khodaryonok, served in the air defense forces, the Ukrainian Cooper Neptune is far from what the Soviet X-35 cruise missile was. He has a slightly different helmet, his own and more powerful. Ukrainian turbojet, different: slightly heavier warhead. Especially for the R-360, the Ukrainian designers have created a new radar (radar station, ed.) And, most importantly, a new active self-guided radar head (ASNRLG) with G We will notice that the Soviet specialists had created a chapter of this type in about ten years, and Kiev did so in little more than two.
However, the expert does not rule out the possibility that ASNRLG has been developed with the participation of foreign specialists. “Most likely from the United States, because the GPS navigation system is a purely American development,” Ovchinikov said.
It recalls the announcement of the Ukrainian state concern Ukroboronprom on June 4, 2019 that during the tests of Neptune “as part of the innovations” the developer changed some of the electronic and digital systems of the CDR, ensuring their work in difficult conditions. , for example, a new radio altimeter to reduce the flight altitude of the P-360 ”.
“This indicator is among the most important: the lower the flight altitude, the more difficult it is for the enemy to see and intercept the cruise missile. The R-360 can fly within a few meters of the surface,” said the service of company press at the time. highlights: “this significantly reduces detection, recognition and interception time.” The components of the CDR navigation system have also been replaced: new ones guarantee its operation, even if the enemy uses electronic warfare on a large scale.
Apparently, the innovations of the Ukrainian developers of the R-360 seem to allow the new CoR “Neptune” to bypass enemy air defense zones and destroy targets in the rear of the enemy with a sudden hit. “In view of the threats to the Crimean bridge made by some officials in Kiev, the new combat capabilities of the Neptunes should not be overlooked,” Ovchinikov said. According to Motor Sich, the state order for the production of CoR R-360 is 120 units for 2019-2020. According to my calculations, the first “Neptune” divisions, with a total of 50-60 missiles, can enter service. year, “he told our newspaper.
In addition to the Neptunes, the Ukrainian troops are armed with new Bayraktar Te Be 2 medium altitude Turkish attack tactical UAVs, which have proven effective during the war in the Karabakh conflict zone, and the Russian army has no analogs in bulk. At the same time, Kiev is about to start production of its own attack drone “Sokol-300”, said “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” military expert Colonel Shamil Gareev.
“Modernized T-64 and T-72 tanks are being shipped en masse to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. New armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, tactical armored vehicles, as well as modern electronic warfare and surveillance systems. : the Ukrainian army already has sufficient quantities of all this. “
The expert notes that “Ukraine’s budget is geared towards a great war.” “While the country’s spending on national defense in 2020 amounted to 245.8 billion hryvnia ($ 10.04 billion), or 5.4 percent of GDP, spending for this purpose in 2021 is projected at least 267.25 billion hryvnia ($ 10.93 billion), or 5.93 percent of GDP, for comparison: Russia’s national defense spending is less than 3 percent of GDP, and in NATO countries about 2 percent, “says Gareev.
Ukraine
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