[Military Martial Plane] Author: Lele
On June 26, the governor of Kiev Prefecture, Ukraine told the outside world that Kiev was attacked by about 14 long-range missiles of the Russian army on the same day. On the 25th before this, Reuters reported that Ukraine was attacked by 48 missiles on the same day, "overall Ukraine." For a time, the news that the Russian army launched a large number of missiles to deter the Ukrainian armed forces became the focus of global attention. As of now, the Ukrainian army did not have the production capacity of typical precision guided missile , nor did they receive similar weapons assistance from Western countries, and they were unable to effectively intercept them. The most concerned issue for the outside world is whether the Russian army, which has insufficient missile reserves during the war, has really solved the missile production capacity problem? Can this large-scale missile attack last?
▲Related reports from domestic media
At present, there are three main long-range precision guided weapons used by the Russian army on the battlefield, namely the sea-based "caliber" cruise missile, the land-based "Iskander-M" tactical ballistic missile, and the air-based Kh-101 cruise missile. Among them, " Iskander-M" is the most famous and has the fastest flight speed. It has no record of being successfully intercepted so far. However, due to its research and development, it is limited by the Intermediate-Fuel Treaty signed by the United States and Russia, its range is only 480 kilometers (not exceeding 500 kilometers). Although Russia has withdrawn from the Intermediate-Future Treaty, the time is limited and it is not too late to complete the extended range improvement of the "Iskander-M", which limits its scope of use. The Kh-101 is a new generation of cruise missile equipped by the Russian Aerospace Army, and is currently equipped on its Tu-160 and Tu-95 series bombers.
▲Two "Iskander-M" ballistic missiles are upright
benefiting from the initial velocity and gravity potential energy obtained when launched on bombers. The maximum range of Kh-101 exceeds 3,000 kilometers. It has also shown its skills in Syrian War before. However, because the number of Russian bombers deployed in Ukraine's special military operations was low, the frequency of Kh-101 was not high. As for the final "caliber", it is the most popular long-range weapon in the Russian army. It has a range of about 1,500 kilometers and is very suitable for a wide range. It can be carried on Russian military domestic equipment such as 900-ton "Thug-M" missile ship, 2,000-ton 20380 frigate , 4,000-ton 11,356M frigate, 5,000-ton 22350 frigate , and even "Kiro" class submarine . After the special military operation began, a number of Russian ships appeared on Black Sea and launched a "caliber" to attack Ukrainian army targets. Even on June 22, the Russian army used "caliber" to accurately attack the Ukrainian high-level command center in Dnepropetrovsk Prefecture, causing more than 50 casualties in the Ukrainian army, including many examples of senior officers.
▲900-ton "Thug-M" missile ship launches "caliber"
Therefore, in the last 48 hours of Russian "48+14" missile attack, 14 missiles hit Kiev have been confirmed. They were Kh-101 dropped by Tu-160 and Tu-95, which is also a relatively rare Russian bomber group dispatched. The missiles that hit the western part of Ukraine before were mainly "caliber", while the missiles falling in the eastern part, especially near the front line, are often the "Iskander" series. One thing to emphasize here is that in addition to the "Iskandel-M", the Russian Army Missile Brigade is actually equipped with an "Iskandel-K" missile. Although the names of the two are only one letter different, their performance is completely different. The "Iskander-K" is a "caliber" model developed on the basis of the Soviet "Club" series of anti-ship missiles, and has nothing to do with the "Iskander-M" ballistic missile that uses solid fuel to propel it. The reason why it is similar to the latter is that when the name was named, the Russian land-based weapons were still limited by a range of 500 kilometers, so the "Iskander-K" range was only 480 kilometers, and they can be mixed with the "Iskander-M".
▲ map-160 bomber
After the special military operation is launched, the "Iskander-M" and "Iskander-K" will often be used together to reduce the cost of use and reduce the probability of being intercepted by the Ukrainian air defense system. This also makes the core equipment of the Russian army's long-range precision missiles actually only have two series: "caliber" and "Iskander-M". Thanks to the complete industrial manufacturing system, the Russian army has rapidly expanded the production capacity of both under the stimulation of the front line, which has been very obvious in the recent Russian army's actions. On June 20, the outside world observed that the Russian Army missile brigade deployed in the Belgorod area fired several "Iskander-M" attacked the Ukrainian tank maintenance center in Markov. Russian Ministry of Defense war report on the same day stated that the Ukrainian rocket launcher position was destroyed by the "Iskander-M". This kind of use can be described as freely, indirectly confirming the sufficient reserves of missiles.
▲"Iskander-K" cruise missile launches
, and the performance of "caliber" and "Iskander-K" is also very dazzling. On June 2, the Russian Black Sea Fleet warship launched 6 "calibers", causing a devastating blow to the Beskidian Railway Tunnel in the Lviv region of Ukraine, which is an important strategic channel for Western countries to transport materials to Ukraine. On June 12, the Russian 11356M frigate launched four "calibers" to destroy the large ammunition database located in Ternopol Prefecture. A large number of field air defense missiles and anti-tank missiles from the West were destroyed. It can be said that the "caliber" of Russian military equipment has become an important strategic equipment at the same level as the US-made " Tomahawk ", and has played an important role in the Russian army's attack on the supply lines, training centers, and supply bases in the rear of the Ukrainian army.
▲Related reports from domestic media
More importantly, the Russian army has been using "caliber" and "Iskander-K" in a large scale, and the relatively generous number will no longer be embarrassed when the war begins. This means that as the war continues, the Russian army has gradually adjusted the wartime production system of its military equipment. Perhaps the output may not be able to meet the needs of large-scale wars, but there is no big problem in dealing with opponents of Ukraine at the level. Recently, the Russian army has launched long-range strikes on the Ukrainian army in the "48+14" mode, which is very likely just a prelude. In the end, as the Russian army becomes more and more experienced and the tactics become more and more mature, the frequency of similar or even larger-scale strikes will become higher and higher.
▲Spectacular S-400 air defense missile production line
At the beginning of the war, precise strikes on the ground have always been the weakness of the Russian army. Therefore, the tragic scene of the Russian Aerospace Army's Su-30SM, Su-34 and other fighter jets equipped by the Russian Aerospace Army were forced to drop bombs at low altitude to meet the demand but unfortunately shot down. As the Russian army continues to adjust, its long-range strike level has gradually increased, and even fighter jets rarely lose due to low-altitude bomb drops. In contrast, the "Dound-U" short-range ballistic missiles equipped by the Ukrainian army have been rarely used recently due to their limited number. The "Haimas" rocket launcher provided by the United States is also greatly reduced because the United States refuses to supply large-caliber rockets with a range of 300 kilometers, and its deterrence is greatly reduced and can only be used as tactical weapons. The direction of the entire war is in this situation, and it is gradually tilted towards the side that is constantly gaining advantages.
