Ukraine's new avenger: Air defence system on the move

The Ukrainian defence sector has unveiled a new integrated air defence system based on the HMMWV vehicle. According to the Militarnyi portal, this system has been delivered to the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.

During the modernisation of the HMMWV vehicle, only the platform was retained, on which a new cabin and a launcher for a pair of Vympel R-73 missiles were mounted. Additionally, electronic warfare systems were placed on the roof of the vehicle to protect against FPV drones.

The Ukrainian Avenger is characterised by a "fire-and-forget" principle of operation, meaning that after the missile is launched, it does not require guidance until it hits the target. This allows the Ukrainian Avenger to quickly change its position after launching the missile or missiles, minimising the risk of a counterattack.

The Ukrainian variation of the American AN/TWQ-1 Avenger system is based on the use of Vympel R-73 missiles, which have also been integrated into the 9K33 Osa anti-aircraft systems. Vympel R-73 missiles are short-range air-to-air missiles capable of striking targets at distances up to 30/40 kilometres, depending on the version.

This applies to conditions at high altitude, where the air is thinner, but for ground platforms, the effective range will likely be within 10-20 kilometres. The missiles contain an 8-kilogramme fragmentation warhead and use thermal guidance, allowing them to effectively track heat-emitting targets.

For this reason, they are a very effective means of combating especially cruise missiles or as an additional layer of defence against Shahed drones. The latter can indeed be shot down, for example, using large-calibre machine guns like the Browning M2.