Ukraine's defense setback: Loss of crucial S‑300 system in Sumy
Ukrainians lost a crucial air defense system in the Sumy region, which protected the airspace over the area of the Kursk region controlled by Ukrainians. Here, we explore what the Ukrainians lost and how it occurred.
Footage surfaced online from a Russian drone that spotted elements of the Ukrainian S-300 air defense system battery in the Sumy region. It appears that either an Iskander-M ballistic missile or a Tornado-S system missile with a cluster warhead hit the S-300P system launcher, suggested by the large explosion in the air before the ground explosions. The Ukrainian launcher was completely destroyed, as indicated by the explosion of the transported rockets and dense white smoke.
The S-300 systems: The core of Ukraine's defense, lacking missiles
In the first two years of the war, Ukrainians effectively countered Russian ballistic and cruise missiles. The situation drastically worsened in the third year as the supplies of missiles for the S-300 systems were nearly exhausted, and the deliveries of Western Patriot and SAMP/T systems were insufficient for the needs.
Currently, operational S-300P and S-300W system batteries are rare, as the only missile producer is located in Russia. Although Ukrainians received an S-300P system battery from Slovakia and missiles for refurbishment from Bulgaria, that's all. The only other option would be Greece, which has repeatedly refused to transfer its stockpiles, or manufacturing new missiles with help from Western partners.
The S-300 systems: One of the few means Ukrainians have to counter ballistic missiles
The S-300 systems were designed in the 1970s in P and W versions. The S-300P was an option for the air force and navy, focusing more on combating aircraft, with the addition of intercepting ballistic missiles, while the S-300W system, introduced to the army a few years later, was more optimized for combating ballistic missiles.
Nonetheless, after the dissolution of the USSR, the S-300P family system gained popularity, which, despite slightly inferior parameters, was noticeably cheaper. It allows for targeting aircraft at distances up to 150 kilometres and altitudes up to 24 kilometres, and ballistic missiles at distances up to 40 kilometres, depending on the missiles used.
All the missiles require continuous guidance by illuminating the target with a fire control radar beam until the moment of impact, significantly limiting defense capabilities in case of simultaneous attacks from multiple directions.
This is an old but still effective method in many air defense systems despite its shortcomings. To destroy the target, there is a fragmentation warhead of about 150 kilograms with a proximity fuse.
