Ukraine - Russia Conflict
- Thread starter randomradio
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Rare footage of a Russian FAB-3000 bomb strike, captured by a VT-40 FPV drone in Kostiantynivka, Donbas. The building was defended by Ukraine's 49th Separate Assault Battalion. A Russian Su-34 frontline fighter-bomber carried out the precision strike. The FAB-3000 bomb destroyed the Ukrainian building.
Footage of Russian FPV drone strikes on advancing Ukrainian army vehicles in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions. The Ukrainian army is currently attempting a counteroffensive at the junction of the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Fighting is ongoing near Pokrovske, near Huliaipole, and elsewhere. The exact location of the footage and the drone models used have not been disclosed.
Footage of strikes by Russian ODAB-500 bombs equipped with the UMPK module against positions of the Ukrainian 414th Separate Unmanned Aerial Systems Brigade "Birds of Madiar." The Ukrainian drone operators were located in buildings near the village of Vesele in the Kherson region. The ODAB-500 bombs were dropped by a Su-34 frontline bomber.
Footage of a Russian 300mm Tornado-S MLRS, possibly a Sarma MLRS, striking an underground temporary Ukrainian infantry deployment site near a destroyed building. The first strike, targeting Ukrainian infantry near the vehicle, was carried out by Russian artillery. The video was filmed near the village of Kazachya Lopan in the Kharkiv region.
If the reports are true and these are indeed Zircon missiles, it appears their terminal dive isn't as optimized as the Iskander or Kinzhal. Those two systems have seen significantly more combat action, which has led to extensive post-deployment refinements of their flight trajectories & terminal dive.
It seems those hard-earned lessons haven't been integrated into the Zircon yet—or at least not in the current production batches being launched into Ukraine. On the other side of the fence, the Patriot system has undergone its own evolution, benefiting from real-world optimization following active engagements.
The true value of modern hypersonic weapons lies in making interception very hard during the midcourse phase. Once they hit the terminal phase, the "invincibility" factor varies wildly, depending heavily on the descent speed:
In a land-attack role, the Zircon likely decelerates to Mach 3–4 during its steep terminal dive in land attack mode. Unlike Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGVs), which can maintain hypersonic speeds all the way to impact, the Zircon’s cruise-missile like profile likely forces a trade-off in terminal phase.
still, Zircon’s lower cruise altitude and unpredictable flight path significantly narrow the defender's detection & action window for a terminal intercept compared to a quasi-ballistic missile & While its midcourse maneuvering is superior, that advantage doesn't seem to outweigh the need for a highly optimized terminal trajectory. If the final dive is not optimized, even a shortened window is enough for a modernized interceptor to find its mark.
Also patriot will still need to be quite close to the thing zircon is targeting for higher chances of terminal interception, which isn't possible for all the targets.
So zircon still compresses the defended area and create lot of gaps and vulnerable targets, can only be addressed by costly more denser air defense grid.
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A scene from a battle between Russian troops from the 11th Brigade of the Dnipro Group of Forces in the village of Zapasne in the Zaporizhzhia region. The video shows the troops repelling attacks by Ukrainian FPV drones. The video also shows repelling an attack by Ukrainian FPV drones while deploying an anti-drone net.
Second video.
This episode shows the repelling of a Ukrainian FPV drone attack on a Russian unit. The video shows a group of Russian servicemen riding an ATV. When the Ukrainian drone appears, the group opens fire with small arms. The location of the filming is not disclosed.
Second video.
This episode shows the repelling of a Ukrainian FPV drone attack on a Russian unit. The video shows a group of Russian servicemen riding an ATV. When the Ukrainian drone appears, the group opens fire with small arms. The location of the filming is not disclosed.
It's more the case that Ukraine has only recently received the upgraded Patriot radars and software upgrade, which allow the PAC-3 MSE to utilise their full engagement altitude amongst other things. Iskanders are now being intercepted much better too.
Patriot modernization in Ukraine is shifting the strategic balance - BCE Consulting
Patriot modernization in Ukraine is shifting the strategic balance - BCE Consulting
bceconsulting.com
US Approves Modernization of Ukrainian Patriot Launchers
The US State Department has cleared a potential sale to Ukraine covering sustainment and upgrades for the Patriot air defense system.
thedefensepost.com
The Zircon is actually still doing Mach 4.5 at impact, significantly faster than Iskander-Ms and Kinzhals, which have a much higher peak speed.
HGVs could be much harder to intercept, but Russia doesn't have any conventional ones at this stage.
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Yeah, mentioned about cases of optimization.
*the Patriot system has undergone its own evolution, benefiting from real-world optimization following active engagements*
The report figure of mach 4.5 terminal is somewhat higher than what I assumed, but not opposed to my core points.
The rat-mouse game of optimization will continue.
It's mostly just the case that Ukraine didn't have the most up-to-date hardware until now though. A THAAD would be more effective still. The key thing to remember is that the Zircon is still powered all the way, whereas the Iskander/Kinzhal is not.
Ratshire will certainly try to circumvent the improvements though.