HIMARS hits command post of Russian air defense system
3 November, 2023 5N63S command post with an illumination radar of the S-300 system. Photo credits: Vitaliy Kuzmin Ukrainian artillerymen, together with the SSU special forces, destroyed a command post that could have been part of the Russian S-300 or S-400 air defense system.
The news was shared on social media. An SSU aerial reconnaissance unit detected a Russian element of an air defense system in the Polohiv district of the Zaporizhzhia region. Following verification, the Ukrainian HIMARS rocket system successfully struck the target detected by Special Forces.
According to the characteristic features of the destroyed Russian object, it visually resembles the Soviet-era 5N63S command post with an illumination radar of the S-300 system or its further development--the 92N6E command post of the S-400 system. The multifunctional target illumination radar receives signals and works on air targets.
- 5N63S command post with an illumination radar of the S-300 system.
Photo credits: Vitaliy Kuzmin
- 92N6E command post with an illumination radar of the S-400 system. Photo credits: Vitaliy Kuzmin
Removing the command post from the air defense system would completely paralyze it, as it is the command post that coordinates the work of all other components, including radars and launchers. This class of system was supposed to intercept airborne targets and ballistic missiles at a long distance and cover a large area in the frontline zone and around strategic facilities.
Its neutralization would allow Ukrainian aviation to operate more safely.
Destruction of Russian air defense and missile defense systems
A few days earlier, Ukrainian special forces destroyed the Russian 48Ya6-?1 Podlet radar in the Belgorod region.
Radar head of the 48Ya6-K1 Podlet-K1. Photo by Vitaly Kuzmin
The Russian military uses Podlet radar to monitor airspace and locate targets at low and extremely low altitudes. It operates in cooperation with S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems.
In addition, on October 31, elements of the Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missile system were hit in the area of the village of Molochne, located on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea.
Previously, there were no victims among the crew of the system.
A type of weapon that destroyed the Russian S-300 was not reported; it could be Storm Shadow (SCALP) missiles or drones.