The Russian Military has reportedly struck Norwegian NASAMS and French Crotale-NG AD system at the Starokonstantinov airfield in the Khmelnitsky region, the Russian Defense Ministry (RuMoD) said.
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“Russian Tactical aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops, and artillery weapons hit Norway-made NASAMS and French-made Crotale-NG air defense systems at the airfield Starokonstantinov in the Khmelnitsky region, as well as aircraft equipment, flight navigation means and aviation ammunition at the airfields of Kanatovo in the Kirovograd region and Dnepr, as well as Ukrainian manpower and military hardware in 127 areas,” the ministry said, according to Tass News Agency.
Earlier in February this year, the RuMoD announced the first destruction of the US-supplied NASAMS air defense system months after the Ukrainian military first deployed it.
“A Tochka-U tactical missile launcher and a NASAMS anti-aircraft missile system manufactured by Norway were destroyed in the settlement of Krasnoarmeysk in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” RIA Novosti reported citing the Russian MoD.
In November 2022, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov acknowledged the arrival of NASAMS AD systems. In a tweet, Reznikov said: “Look who’s here! NASAMS and Aspide air defense systems arrived in Ukraine!”
Reznikov thanked Norway, Spain, and the United States.
Look who’s here!
NASAMS and Aspide air defence systems arrived in Ukraine!
These weapons will significantly strengthen #UAarmy and will make our skies safer.
We will continue to shoot down the enemy targets attacking us.
Thank you to our partners: Norway, Spain and the US. pic.twitter.com/ozP4eXhgOg— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) November 7, 2022
NASAMS are short-to-medium-range ground-based air defense systems that can defend against drone, helicopter, cruise missile, and aircraft attacks.
Earlier, as EurAsian Times reported, the US had vowed to hasten the delivery of the NASAMS to Ukraine after Russia started an unprecedented bombardment of its cities.
Ukraine had repeatedly requested for AD systems like NASAMS to thwart Russia’s use of cheap, expendable drones. In the face of ferocious attacks crippling its vital infrastructure, the calls for NASAMS only got more clamorous.
NASAMS is a powerful defense system that protects sensitive airspace around the White House and the US Capitol in Washington.
The cutting-edge capabilities of NASAMS include a net-centric design, numerous simultaneous engagements, beyond visual range (BVR) capabilities, and its ability to be tightly integrated and tailored to a country’s integrated air and missile defense system.
The NASAMS uses the AIM-120 AMRAAM adapted for ground launch. When fired from an aircraft, the AMRAAM has high energy on launch. When fired from the surface, the AMRAAM has no energy on launch.
It has to climb and accelerate, expending its rocket motor fuel. As such, the range of the system is limited to around 30 km. The system has no area defense capability.
The NASAMS is a point defense system created to protect critical assets. It is deployed around Washington, and at one point, India was set to deploy it around New Delhi.
The NASAMS-2 variant, likely to be delivered to Kyiv, has a Link-16 data link. It means that the system needs no surveillance radar. It can be cued towards the target over a data link by an airborne surveillance asset.
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