Special written by The Paper Lin Sen
Recently, the United States announced the provision of the "Phoenix Ghost" cruise missile to Ukraine. It is said that the missile is a customized version specially developed for Ukraine. The United States has previously provided Ukraine with the "Switchblade" series cruise missiles to Ukraine. In addition to the United States, Polish also provides Ukraine with "comrades-in-arms" cruise missile .
In the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the KUB-BLA cruise missile equipped by the Russian army has appeared in Ukraine. This means that multiple cruise missiles will be opponents on the battlefield and compete on the same field. There were no patrol missiles in the early stages of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. As the conflict continued, patrol missiles began to be widely used in mid-March. So, what impact will patrol missiles have on the direction of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict?
"Switchblade" cruise missile launch moment.
The United States provides Ukraine with advanced cruise missiles
According to information released by the US military, it will provide Ukraine with more than 121 sets of "Phoenix Ghost" cruise missiles. It is said that this type of cruise missile is similar to the "switchblade" cruise missile provided before, but has different performance and is specially developed in response to Ukrainian needs. The pairing of "switchblade" and "Phoenix Ghost" is very effective in attacking different types of targets, DOD spokesman Kirby added.
The US military has not released photos of the "Phoenix Ghost" so far, and the outside world is not aware of its appearance. However, according to the technological development of the US cruise missile, the cruise missile should have adopted some of the technology of "switchblade", but in order to improve the battery life and the power of the warhead, it is larger in size, and may be used for attacking tanks.
Before providing the "Phoenix Ghost" cruise missile, the United States has provided Ukraine with the "Switchblade" series cruise missiles. On March 16, White House announced that it would provide 100 drones to Ukraine from its inventory. At that time, it was "switchblade" 300, and then it provided multiple batches, with a total of 400. In addition, it also provided 600 cruise missiles including the more powerful "switchblade" 600 cruise missiles.
"Switchblade" is a land-launched cruise missile developed by AeroVironment since 2006. It is mainly used to accurately strike fixed or mobile targets within a certain range. The first one to successfully develop was the "Switchblade" 300 cruise missile. The bullet is 0.5 meters long, with foldable wings, driven by an electric engine, weighing only 2.5 kg, and can be placed in the soldier's tactical backpack , with a range of 10 kilometers, a range of 15 minutes, a cruise speed of 100 kilometers per hour, and a warhead weighs 0.32 kg. It is a fragmented killing warhead power, equivalent to a 40mm automatic grenade, mainly used to deal with infantry or light wheeled vehicles.
"Switchblade" 600 cruise missile is the latest member of the "Switchblade" family. It was officially launched in October 2020. It has a significant increase in size and weight, weighing 23 kilograms, a range of about 80 kilometers, and a battery life of 40 minutes. It also uses an armor-piercing warhead, which can deal with tank armor targets, and its power is equivalent to "Jaberfin" anti-tank missile .
"Switchblade" cruise missile uses folding wings.
"Switchblade" 600 cruise missile is equipped with a high-performance photoelectric/infrared universal sensor kit, capable of implementing precise flight control and providing ground forces with tactical reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition capabilities. Its task control is completed by the operator on the portable flat-panel touch screen, and the fire control system software can complete the "touch-reconnaissance-strike" closed loop in a short time. Manual or automatic operation by the operator can make plans and perform precise tasks more conveniently, reducing "cognitive load".
"Switchblade" 300 cruise missile has been used in actual combat. On July 29, 2011, U.S. Army signed a $4.9 million contract with American Airlines and Environmental Corporation and provided an unknown number of "switchblade" cruise missiles to U.S. forces in Afghanistan. In May 2012, US Marine Corps began ordering "switchblade" cruise missiles. At the end of 2012, 75 "switchblades" were provided to American soldiers in Afghanistan . It is said that the US military has used more than 4,000 "switchblades" cruise missiles in Afghanistan.
The Russian army also used cruise missiles on the Ukrainian battlefield.This cruise missile, called KUB-BLA, was developed by the well-known Kalashnikov company (AK-47 automatic rifle is the company's product), and was put into use in 2015. The KUB-BLA cruise missile adopts aerodynamic design of triangular wings, and the wing tip is designed with a vertical stabilization surface, which plays a stable role, with a wingspan of 1.21 meters and a length of 0.95 meters. A photoelectric system is equipped in front of the warhead.
This cruise missile is driven by an electric engine, and the engine is located behind the body, with a good silent effect and is not easy to be discovered. The maximum flight speed of the KUB-BLA cruise missile is 130 km/h. Battery life is 30 minutes. After launch, it flies to the target area and hoveres. Once the target is discovered, it can launch a dive attack. It is mainly used to attack ground moving targets and surface ships .
"Switchblade" 600 cruise missile is larger in size and can be used to attack armored targets such as tanks. What impact does the
cruise missile have on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict?
With the development and installation of cruise missile missile technology, cruise missiles have entered the battlefield, especially the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that broke out in 2020. The cruise missile has played an important role, aroused the attention of all countries, and will also promote the widespread deployment and use of this weapon.
cruise missile can be said to be the product of the integration of drone technology and precision guided ammunition technology. It is a new concept ammunition. This weapon can "cruise" and "standby" over the target area and search for targets, and attack after positioning the target. Cruising missiles can shorten attack response time, prevent the enemy from hiding the target in a short period of time, and do not need to place a high-value launch platform near the target area, and can also achieve more selective attacks, because attack commands during actual combat may be aborted.
According to the current technological development status, cruise missiles can be classified into primary cruise missiles and advanced cruise missiles. The intelligent technology of primary cruise missiles is limited and equipped with a two-way data link. Generally, manual intervention is involved in the guidance. The most important feature of advanced cruise missiles is intelligence, that is, independently searching, identifying and attacking targets in the target area, and having strong independent combat capabilities. In addition, it can also be equipped with data links, and in special circumstances, it can manually intervene and participate in target attacks. At present, at least 14 countries in the world have developed cruise missiles, including , Israel, , the United States, Britain and Russia. Among them, Israel has developed the most types of cruise missiles, and the earliest "Habbi" anti-radiation drone is also a patrol missile. Later, many Israeli military enterprises, , launched multiple series of cruise missiles, including "Habbi", "Hero", "Green Dragon", etc., to meet the needs of different customers.
KUB-BLA cruise missile.
For ground force , the greatest significance of patrol missiles is that it has an additional air strike method, especially for some small combat troops, such as special forces, guerrilla combat forces, etc., they often cannot obtain air support from helicopters and fixed-wing fighter jets like large corps. Portable patrol missiles can not only enhance their own situational awareness, but also attack enemy targets at critical moments. Taking the "Switchblade" 300 cruise missile as an example, when a special force is invaded by an enemy ambush when fighting deep behind enemy lines, without air or ground fire support, the operator can find a bunker nearby and fire a "Switchblade" cruise missile. The operator can watch the clear picture sent back by the "Switchblade" in real time through the controller, and when finding a position, it sends attack instructions to the cruise missile. The "Switchblade" 300 attacks the target by diving. The most important thing is that the "switchblade" 300 is very lightweight and can be put into a backpack. A small force can carry multiple such ammunition.
From the perspective of performance, the "switchblade" is a relatively advanced cruise missile. In the process of continuous improvement, it is equipped with a two-way data link, the software is constantly updated, and the degree of intelligence is constantly improving. Russia's KUB-BLA is more like a suicide drone, which is relatively primary and less portable than the "switchblade". The "switchblade" wings can be folded, while the KUB-BLA's wings cannot be folded.It is worth mentioning that the United States has provided Ukraine with two cruise missiles, "Switchblade" 300 and "Switchblade" 600. The smaller "Switchblade" 300 is mainly used to attack vehicles with weak vitality and weak protection capabilities, while the "Switchblade" 600 is mainly used to deal with armored vehicles such as tanks and other tanks. Combined with the "Phoenix Ghost" with a longer battery life, the US cruise missile is better at the equipment level.
Now the Ukrainian armed forces mainly use guerrilla warfare , urban warfare and position warfare to confront the Russian army, and the easy-to-carry cruise missiles will make up for the lack of air support of the Ukrainian armed forces to a certain extent. From the video released by the Ukrainian army, it can be seen that the Ukrainian army often uses small troops to ambush the Russian army. Small troops generally carry various types of anti-tank missiles , bazooka , sniper rifle , and automatic rifle , and have strong anti-armor capabilities. If cruise missiles are added, the combat capabilities of small troops can be further improved, which will bring more trouble to the Russian army. In order to deal with the Ukrainian military's patrol missiles, the Russian army will probably find a way to counter the attack and defense of both sides will become more intense.
Editor in charge: Xie Ruiqiang Picture editor: Le Yufeng
Proofreading: Ding Xiao
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