Ukraine counters Russian missile blitz with mobile air squads
The Russians carried out an attack on the Ukrainian energy sector using up to 93 missiles and nearly 200 drones. One of the pillars of Ukraine's defence is mobile intervention groups equipped with handheld anti-aircraft systems. Here's what they use and what they target.
The Russians continue a winter missile attack on Ukraine, aiming to destroy the country's energy and heating infrastructure. Apart from the very few medium-range anti-aircraft systems capable of countering ballistic missiles like the Iskander-M, the key to effective defence are mobile intervention groups hunting drones and cruise missiles.
Their task is to intercept targets several hundred kilometres before they reach their destination, reducing the number of missiles reaching places like Kyiv. The Russians launch drones and cruise missiles from the Kh-101 family in such a way that they approach the target from different directions, and their low flight altitude effectively limits detection. For this reason, intervention groups and, for example, F-16 aircraft patrolling potential attack paths are very effective.
In the video below, you can see one of these groups firing at a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile with a large-caliber machine gun and a handheld anti-aircraft launcher resembling a 9K38 Igla.
Handheld 9K38 Igla systems — technology from the USSR era
Until the delivery of similar class systems from the West, like American FIM-92 Stinger launchers or Polish PPZR Piorun, the main anti-aircraft weapon of the Ukrainian infantry was the 9K38 Igla system, introduced into service in the USSR in the 1980s.
These systems weigh about 18 kilograms, with the missile itself weighing approximately 11 kilograms, capable of engaging targets at distances of up to about 5 kilometres. The destruction of the target is achieved by a fragmentation warhead weighing about 1.4 kilograms, containing 0.4 kilograms of HMX explosive.
The precise targeting is ensured by a dual-band guidance head using infrared and ultraviolet sensors. The first detects a heat point like a turbojet engine, and the second homes in on an ultraviolet source. This design allows them to ignore ordinary flares because they do not emit the ultraviolet signature typical of jet engines.
For this reason, they are ideal for countering, for example, Su-25 attack aircraft, helicopters, and low-flying Kh-101 cruise missiles carrying a 480-kilogram warhead.
