Cold war relics redefine air defence in Ukraine's skies

The record-setting unit under the command of the "West" Air Force, credited with 26 Shahed drones and 3 cruise missiles, is operated by three people who were not connected to the military before the full-scale Russian invasion. The commander is Victor from Kyiv, who was a private entrepreneur. The gunner is Bogdan, a pastry chef at a restaurant in downtown Kharkiv, and the driver-mechanic Vasyl was a miner from the Donetsk region.

They received their system in the summer of 2022 after brief training abroad. According to Victor, "to fulfill our tasks, it is a top-class combat vehicle. It has two powerful 35-millimetre cannons and very effective radars that enable target detection and tracking. We work as a unity — three people and a vehicle. We take a position, we are ready, we detect targets, we destroy them. There is little time to make decisions because the air battle lasts only a few seconds. We must destroy the target before it leaves our range, but we can manage."

During their most productive battle, the crew destroyed 5 Shahed drones. The commander says it was also their hardest battle. "Our position was directly at the defended site. This means that the strike drones fly directly at us and we have to destroy them. It's either us or them. In the heat of the moment, you barely think about yourself and just want to destroy everything. We succeeded, although during the attack, one of the guns malfunctioned."

During another anti-aircraft battle, the crew destroyed three cruise missiles. "Their target was an energy facility. If we failed, many people would be left without light and heating in their homes. This is a strong motivation to act."

In addition to the Gepards from Germany, Ukraine also received Dutch Cheetah PTRL based on the German Gepard, which is a self-propelled anti-aircraft system built on the chassis of a Leopard 1 tank. The system uses a pair of Oerlikon KDA L/R04 35/90 35-millimetre automatic cannons.

These cannons have a rapid-fire rate of 550 rounds per minute each, totalling 1,100 rounds per minute. This allows effective targeting of targets at about 4 to 5 kilometres at a very low cost. A multi-round burst costs over 10,000 euros (15,700 Canadian dollars), which is relatively low compared to anti-aircraft missiles costing significantly over 100,000 euros (157,000 Canadian dollars) each for even cheaper solutions.

Gun targeting is done with a fire control radar located at the front of the turret, which has a range of 14 kilometres. This radar provides crucial targeting data to the ballistic computer, and a second rotating radar with the same range is used for full 360-degree object detection.

It is worth noting that the Dutch chose a radar from a different manufacturer, distinguishing their version from the German one. Additionally, the Gepard or Cheetah PTRL is equipped with an optical sight that allows operation in emergency mode when combined with tracer ammunition.

The Cheetah PTRL systems in CA2 and CA3 versions have been modernized, which included enhancing the communication and fire control systems. The aim of these changes was to shorten the time from target detection to elimination and to add a sensor that measures the projectile's muzzle velocity.

These vehicles have also been adapted for use with FAPDS-T type ammunition, which is a spin-stabilized sub-calibre round with a fragmenting core and tracer. This ammunition is characterized by greater effectiveness and a range of 5 kilometres, compared to standard HEI-T or SAPHEI-T ammunition. This is a significant strengthening of Ukrainian short-range air defence.