Ukraine's air force unveils NASAMS surface-to-air missile system for the first time

Last year, two NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems entered service with the Ukrainian Air Force. And now, a few months later, we have seen them for the first time.

Here's What We Know

The Air Force received two complexes, but more NASAMS complexes are expected to arrive from the US, one from Canada and two firing platoons from Norway. The number of launchers is not specified. The first pictures of the surface-to-air missile system in Ukraine were published by Channel 24, which interviewed Air Force Command spokesman Yuriy Ignat.

According to him, the effectiveness of shooting down Russian missiles has increased dramatically after Ukraine received Western air defence systems. In particular, NASAMS and Iris-T. Before their arrival, only 20-30 per cent of the missiles were shot down, but after receiving NASAMS and Iris-T, the efficiency increased by two to three times.

At the same time, Yuriy Ignat added that medium-range surface-to-air missile systems cannot protect the entire territory of Ukraine. Therefore, they are used to intercept missiles in strategically important areas.

Now the Ukrainian Air Force, which uses Western and Soviet anti-aircraft missile systems, can shoot down Kalibr, X-101 / X-555 / X-55, R-500 (Iskander), X-59 and X-35 missiles relatively effectively. Meanwhile, Russia has launched more than 120 X-22 missiles, and each has reached its target.

This is because the X-22 reaches speeds of up to 5,000 km/h and dives on target along a ballistic trajectory. Patriot and SAMP/T surface-to-air missiles would be needed to intercept such threats. But it should be understood that they too will not be able to provide 100% effectiveness, as the maximum intercept range for such targets is 40 km.

Source: Channel 24