jimbob wrote: ↑Fri Aug 19, 2022 10:35 pm
EACLucifer wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 6:41 am
Massive secondary explosion, reportedly an ammunition depot in occupied Azovsk, Crimea, 200km from front line.
Ukraine's campaign of striking deeper into Russian-occupied territory continues. As yet, we do not know the means, but it could well be different means for different strikes anyway.
The arrival of AGM-88 HARM may have made a real difference. Arestovych mentioned just four aircraft were equipped for them, yet the impact is clear. Ukrainian Su-24s are operating over or close to Russian positions now, using laser-guided missiles that require line of sight. They can do that due to the destruction and suppression of Russian radars. It isn't just that AGM-88 HARM destroys radars, it's that it makes switching them on dangerous, and this can result in radars being off when they would otherwise be giving warning to the Russians. That in turn gives more options for use of things like improvised cruise missiles based on obsolete recon drones like the Tu-143, and more opportunities for hitting with weapons like the Tochka-U.
HARM has been integrated into the Ukrainian MiG 29s
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/u ... n-missiles
It makes sense - if it's technically feasible, and clearly it is, the MiG-29 is the best platform to integrate equipment on. While the Su-24 gives more payload and a weapons officer to operate it, there's only about a dozen or so of them in Ukrainian service, and no chance of more coming from NATO countries, unlike the MiG-29. In addition, the Su-24 has reasonably decent ground attack capabilities, including guided AGMs. The MiG-29 does not, so adding AGM-88 HARM adds capability without diverting the Su-24s away from their existing role.
The thing about the MiG-29 is that it's actually quite a good airframe, the Soviet Union's equivalent of planes like the F-16. The problem is that it never got the upgrades needed to turn it into a modern, multi-role strike fighter. It's got decent short range air to air missiles, and that's it. It's longer range AAMs are outmatched by modern Russian ones, and that's an area where it would be exceptionally hard to upgrade. For ground attack, it has rockets and unguided bombs.
However, the MiG-29 is a known quantity in the west. America has access to examples, and they were in service in a number of former-Warsaw Pact nations now in NATO. Equipped with modern ordnance, it would be competitive in the role Ukraine needs it for - as a strike plane that can fight other jets if needed, and that can threaten Russian helicopters and Su-25s. As well as AGM-88 HARM, Brimstone ought to be viable, as would anything laser guided, if used in support of ground troops equipped with designators (stuff like Dual Mode Brimstone, Paveway, some JDAM variants, APKWS rockets, etc), and GPS guided weapons like JDAMs and Small Diameter Bombs would certainly be viable for attacking fixed targets, as they can be pre-programmed before takeoff.
These announcements of military aid can also be a good idea for knowing what works. More AGM-88 HARMs suggests that that is a weapon that is proving useful.
America's sending some of their M119s - basically a slightly modified L119 light gun. This fits with reports that the L119s have been well received. They haven't the range of guns like the M777, but they are very small and light, can be towed by a pickup truck, and have a high rate of fire, such that they aren't so far behind the 155mm pieces when it comes to weight of shell delivered per minute.
Phoenix Ghost drones - whatever the hell they are (remember, the EFP drone theory is just a theory) are being replenished. Not the case with Switchblade 300s, which turned out not to have enough punch for the job, and to not be suitable for large scale conventional warfare.
TOW missiles are a new development, which is a surprise, as they could have been sent much earlier, however, it could well be that a weapon requiring considerable operator skill wasn't in demand, as Ukraine already had a similar - arguably superior - system of their own, the Stugna-P. The TOW won't be a game changer, but it will continue to make life difficult for Russian armour, and could fill in for Stugna-Ps if they are starting to run out. It could be a bit more of a game changer if it is possible to get Suheil Mahmoud over from Syria. A Tank-hunting ace with well over a hundred kills with the system, he earned the nickname "Abu Tow", and shows what is possible with weapons like the TOW.