Ukrainian paratroopers strike the Russian Buk SAM

3 August, 2023 A destroyed TELAR from the Russian Buk air defense system, August 2023. Photo credits: 80th Air Assault Brigade Soldiers of the 80th Air Assault Brigade destroyed a vehicle from the Russian Buk SAM.

The press service of the unit published footage of the damage to the equipment on its social media pages. According to the authors of the video, the aerial reconnaissance unit detected the position of the Russian SAM system, disguised in a forest, presumably with the Leleka-100 UAV. After detecting and identifying the target, the HIMARS missile system struck the Russian crew.

The missile destroyed the equipment and caused the ammunition to detonate. The video shows that the Buk SAM is not visible because of the tree crowns.

The fact that this is a SAM system can be judged by the characteristic detonation and burning of rocket fuel that anti-aircraft missiles are equipped with. The volume of explosive combustion also corresponds to the amount of fuel that could be in the rockets of such a system. The model of the system and the type of vehicle affected remain unknown.

Judging by the rockets that detonated, it could have been a self-propelled launcher or supply vehicle. The publication does not specify where exactly the Russian SAM system was destroyed, but it is reported that the 80th Air Assault Brigade is now fighting alongside the 3rd Assault Brigade in the direction of Klishchiyivka near Bakhmut, Donetsk region. It is worth noting that the HIMARS and M270 systems with GMLRS high-precision guided missiles have become the main means of defeating the Ukrainian army for important remote targets, such as air defense and artillery.

HIMARS with 69 confirmed targets destroyed

Buk SAM systems play an important role on the battlefield for the Russian invaders, covering their air operations from airstrikes.

Their loss will allow the Ukrainian army aviation to operate more safely against the forward positions of the enemy. Since May of this year, this is already the eleventh documented destroyed vehicle of the system of this type. In total, during the full-scale invasion, the Oryx project recorded the loss of 28 TELARs, 9 TELs, 7 radars, and 2 control vehicles of the Buk SAM system of various modifications of the Russian army.

Pantsir-S1 SAM of the Russian Federation invasion forces, 2023.

Illustrative photo

In addition to the above-mentioned systems, in May, the 80th Air Assault Brigade destroyed two (1 and 2) Russian Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery systems with the help of HIMARS systems.