Russia puts aircraft features on missiles to fool Ukrainian air defense

The scene of a Russian missile attack on Ukraine (Photo: Reuters).

Responding to AFP, a Ukrainian soldier named Roman said Russia has begun applying a new tactic in its military campaign in Ukraine: launching decoy missiles to fool Ukrainian air defenses.

Roman admitted that the Ukrainian army is having difficulty fighting against Stinger shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles when Russia applies this tactic.

“Russia is using missiles that release decoy flares while flying, like a fighter jet or helicopter. This has never happened before and this is a problem for Stingers,” Roman said.

The Stinger missile uses infrared to identify targets.

With a structure similar to conventional flares, thermal decoys are commonly used by the Russian army and many countries around the world on fighter planes and helicopters to protect these weapons from anti-aircraft missiles using infrared homing heads.

When an enemy missile is detected, decoys are released. The high heat from these decoys will fool the missile's seeker and help the vehicle escape safely.

Roman was a member of an air defense unit that helped defend the Ukrainian capital Kiev from a massive Russian airstrike on January 2. He said he observed Russian missile tactics that used heat traps.

Roman said he and his team shot down two Russian cruise missiles during that attack using a US-supplied mobile air defense system and ZU-23 guns.

However, he also admitted that intercepting heat-baiting missiles is not simple.

The admission by Roman comes as Sergiy Naev, commander of the joint force of the Ukrainian armed forces, told AFP last week that Kiev's mobile air defence groups only had "enough ammunition to withstand several more powerful attacks from Russia".

Ukraine's priority is to get more ammunition because the Russians "really want to weaken our air defense system," he said.

Russia's increased drone and missile attacks appear to be aimed at depleting Ukraine's air defenses as Western military aid dwindles, an expert told Business Insider last week.

Ukraine is struggling to get more aid, as the US has yet to agree on a new funding package for Kiev. Meanwhile, Hungary has blocked a multi-billion dollar EU aid package for Ukraine.

On the other hand, Russian attacks have shown no signs of decreasing in intensity and frequency in recent times.

Late last December, Ukraine said Russia had launched 7,400 missiles and 3,700 drones attacking Shahed at Kiev targets since the conflict broke out.

In the five days between late 2023 and early this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched about 500 missiles and drones into Ukraine.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/nga-dua-tinh-nang-cua-may-bay-len-ten-lua-de-danh-lua-phong-khong-ukraine-20240108222922544.htm