Ukraine
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a powerful grouping of air defense forces remained in Ukraine, which was not similar to any of the Union republics. Only Russia possessed a large arsenal of anti-aircraft weapons. In 1992, the airspace of the Ukrainian SSR was defended by two corps (49th and 60th) of the 8th separate air defense army. In addition, the 28th Air Defense Corps of the 2nd Separate Air Defense Army was located on the territory of Ukraine. The 8th Air Defense Army consisted of 10 fighter and 1 mixed air regiment, 7 anti-aircraft missile brigades and regiments, 3 radio engineering brigades and a regiment. The fighter regiments were armed with interceptors: Su-15TM, MiG-25PD / PDS, MiG-23ML / MLD. Since the end of the 80s, several air regiments have been in the process of re-equipping with new equipment. Su-27 fighters managed to receive 136 IAP and 62 IAP. In total, after the division of Soviet property, Ukraine received more than 2,800 aircraft for various purposes, of which 40 are Su-27 and more than 220 MiG-29. In 1992, Ukraine had the fourth largest fleet of combat aircraft in the world, second only to the United States, Russia and China. The training of personnel for the air defense forces was carried out at the Higher Engineering Radio Engineering Academy in Kharkov, at the Higher Anti-Aircraft Missile Command School in Dnepropetrovsk and at the Training Regiment in Evpatoria, where junior specialists were trained.
In 1991, the 8th Air Defense Army included 18 anti-aircraft missile regiments and anti-aircraft missile brigades, which had 132 anti-aircraft missile battalions. This number of anti-aircraft battalions is comparable to the current number of air defense forces in the Russian Aerospace Forces. The structure and armament of the air defense missile systems deployed in Ukraine were similar to those adopted in the Air Defense Forces of the USSR. The 8th Air Defense Army was armed with SAMs: S-75M2 / M3, S-125M / M1, S-200A / V and S-300PT / PS.
The combat composition of the formations of the 8th separate air defense army
In Vasilkov, Lvov, Odessa, Sevastopol and Kharkov, radio engineering brigades were deployed, which included radio engineering battalions and separate radio engineering companies, where more than 900 radars were operated: 5N84A, P-80, P-37, P-15U, P-18, 5N87, 64Zh6, 19Zh6, 35D6 and radio altimeters: PRV-9, PRV-11, PRV-13, PRV-16, PRV-17. In addition to radars, which had a greater or lesser degree of mobility, in Ukraine there were several purely stationary stations 44Zh6 (stationary version of the Oborona-14 radar) and 5N69 (ST-67). All means of RTV ZRV and air defense information armaments tied into a single tactical whole the latest ACS systems "Osnova", "Senezh" and "Baikal". In the Ukrainian air defense network inherited from the Soviet Union after its collapse, detection equipment and air defense systems were organized so that they could protect strategically important objects and geographic regions. These include industrial and administrative centers: Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Nikolaev, Odessa and, until recently, the Crimean Peninsula. During the Soviet era, air defense systems were deployed along the western border and throughout Ukraine.
RLK ST-67
However, most of this Soviet legacy turned out to be superfluous for an independent Ukraine. By 1997, the interceptors: MiG-25PD / PDS, MiG-23ML / MLD and Su-15TM were decommissioned or transferred “for storage”. A significant part of the modern MiG-29 was put up for sale. Since gaining independence, Ukraine has exported about 240 military aircraft and helicopters. More than 95% of them are vehicles inherited during the division of the Soviet Air Force and Air Defense. Of the new aircraft for export, only transport An-32 and An-74 were built. After 20 years of independence, the number of combat aircraft capable of effectively intercepting air targets and performing air superiority missions has decreased many times over. So, in 2012, 16 Su-27s and 20 MiG-29s were in flight condition, although 36 Su-27s and 70 MiG-29s were formally in fighter aviation. According to the annual report “Flightglobal Insight’s World Air Forces 2015”, the number of aircraft and helicopters of the Ukrainian Air Force in flight condition does not exceed 250 units.
Layout of permanent airfields of Ukrainian fighters
Ukrainian fighters are based on airfields: Vasilkov, Kiev region (40th tactical aviation brigade), Mirgorod, Poltava region (831st tactical aviation brigade), Ozernoye, Zhytomyr region (9th tactical aviation brigade), Ivano-Frankovsk, Ivano -Frankivsk region (114th tactical aviation brigade). After the start of the ATO, it was announced the restoration of previously unused airfields: Kolomyia in the Ivano-Frankivsk region and Kanatovo in the Kirovograd region.
In addition to the aircraft factories in Kiev and Kharkov, Ukraine inherited from the USSR two aircraft repair enterprises: the Zaporozhye aircraft repair plant "MiGremont" and the Lvov state aircraft repair plant. Having a significant debt for consumed energy resources, Ukraine could not afford the purchase of new fighters, and in the early 2000s, certain attempts were made to modernize the existing ones. Chance helped with the modernization of the MiG-29, at the end of 2005 Ukraine signed a contract with Azerbaijan for the supply of 12 MiG-29 and 2 MiG-29UB from the Air Force. At the same time, according to the terms of the contract, the aircraft had to undergo refurbishment and modernization. Thus, in Ukraine, they got the opportunity to test "in practice" theoretical developments under the program of "small modernization" of MiGs. Work on the modernization of the Ukrainian MiG-29 (modification 9.13) began at the Lviv aircraft repair plant in 2007. The first three modernized fighters were delivered to the Air Force in 2010. The upgraded aircraft received the designation MiG-29UM1. In the course of modernization, in addition to work on extending the service life, new navigation and communication aids were installed that meet ICAO requirements. The modernization of the radar with the planned increase by about 20% of the detection range compared to the original data did not take place. To achieve the required characteristics, it is necessary to create (or buy from the Russian "Fazotron") a new station, which is, of course, impossible in modern conditions. The Ukrainian media reported about 12 MiGs planned for modernization. It is unclear whether we are talking about machines intended for the own Air Force or foreign customers. So, after the beginning of the armed conflict in the east of the country, the MiG-29 fighter, after being repaired at the Lvov aircraft repair plant, departed for the Republic of Chad.
Fighter MiG-29 "in storage" at the Lviv aircraft repair plant
The modernization of the Su-27 was delayed, the first aircraft that underwent repairs and "minor" modernization was handed over to the Ukrainian Air Force by the Zaporozhye Aircraft Repair Plant in February 2012. And in mid-April 2012, another Su-27 was overhauled. To date, it is known about six modernized Su-27 P1M, Su-27S1M and Su-27UBM1. They entered the regiments based at the airfields in Mirgorod and Zhitomir. In terms of their capabilities, the Ukrainian MiG-29 and Su-27 are significantly inferior to similar fighters modernized in Russia. In general, the combat effectiveness of Ukrainian fighter aircraft is low, and the future is uncertain. Ukraine previously had very limited capabilities to maintain its air force in a combat-ready state, and after the destabilization of the situation in the country and the actual start of a civil war, these capabilities became even less. Due to a lack of resources (kerosene, spare parts and qualified specialists), most of the Ukrainian fighter aircraft was pinned to the ground. During the ATO conducted by the armed forces in eastern Ukraine, two MiG-29s (both from the 114th tactical aviation brigade, Ivano-Frankivsk) were shot down.
Currently, more than half of the radars that control the airspace over the territory of Ukraine are Soviet-made radars: 5N84A, P-37, P-18, P-19, 35D6. However, there are also a significant number of fairly new 36D6 stations. The construction of radars of this type was carried out at the State Enterprise "Scientific and Production Complex" Iskra "" in Zaporozhye. This enterprise is one of the few in Ukraine, whose products are in steady demand in the world market and are included in the list of strategically important ones.
Radar 36D6-M
At the moment, Iskra is manufacturing mobile three-dimensional airspace surveillance radars 36D6-M. This station is currently one of the best in its class and is used in modern automated air defense systems, anti-aircraft missile systems for detecting low-flying air targets, covered with active and passive interference, for air traffic control of military and civil aviation. If necessary, the 36D6-M operates in the mode of an autonomous control center. Detection range 36D6-M - up to 360 km. To transport the radar, the KrAZ-6322 or KrAZ-6446 tractors are used, the station can be deployed or collapsed within half an hour. Radars of this type were actively supplied abroad, one of the largest buyers of the 36D6-M radar is India. Before the start of the armed Russian-Georgian conflict in 2008, Georgia received several stations.
Back in Soviet times, NPK Iskra began the development of a 79K6 Pelican mobile three-coordinate circular-view radar with a phased array antenna. However, due to insufficient funding, the first prototype was created only in 2006. In the same year, state tests were carried out, and in the summer of 2007, the 79K6 radar was officially adopted by the armed forces of Ukraine. The export version received the designation 80K6.
Radar 80K6
The station is intended for use as part of the Air Defense Forces and the Air Force as an information link for monitoring and issuing target designation to anti-aircraft missile systems and automated air traffic control systems. The radar is located on two KrAZ-6446. The radar deployment time is 30 minutes. The detection range of high-altitude air targets is 400 km.
In addition to the construction of the modernized 36D6-M and the creation of a new 79K6, Soviet radars 5N84, P-18 and P-19 were modernized in Ukraine. The 5N84 meter range radar is an evolutionary version of the P-14 radar. The Ukrainian version of the 5N84AMA was put into service in 2011. In the course of modernization of 5N84, a transition to a modular design and a new element base was carried out, which made it possible to increase the station's reliability and reduce energy consumption. The number of operating frequencies and noise immunity have increased. The upgraded radar has the ability to automatically track and receive data from other stations. The set with the 5N84AMA provides for the use of modernized radio altimeters PRV-13 and PRV-16.
Ukraine has created options for upgrading the P-18 meter-range mobile radar with digital processing and automatic transmission of information: P-18MU (put into service in 2007) and P-18 "Malachite" (put into service in 2012). At the moment, more than 12 radars have been delivered to the troops. In the course of modernization, the task was to increase the accuracy of measuring coordinates, improve protection against active and passive interference, and achieve an increase in the level of reliability and service life. Radar P-18 "Malachite" can track objects, the speed of which reaches one thousand meters per second. A fighter of the MiG-29 type, flying at an altitude of 10,000 m, the station detects at a distance of about 300 kilometers. The dimensions of the upgraded version of the radar have been significantly reduced compared to the base P-18. Now "Malachite" is free to fit on one KRAZ and a trailer.
In 2007, the modernized two-coordinate radar of the decimeter range P-19MA entered service. In the course of modernization, the station was transferred to a modern solid-state element base, coupled with computing facilities. As a result, power consumption has decreased and MTBF has increased, detection characteristics have improved, and the possibility of automatic tracking of the trajectories of airborne objects has been implemented. The station provides reception of data from other radars, the exchange of radar information occurs via any data exchange channels in the agreed exchange protocol.
Control zones of Ukrainian radars as of 2010
Before the start of the civil war in Ukraine, a continuous radar field existed over most of the country. However, after the outbreak of the conflict, the situation deteriorated significantly, part of the RTV equipment deployed in the east of the country was destroyed during the hostilities. So, on the morning of May 6, 2014, as a result of an attack on a radio engineering unit in the Luhansk region, one radar station was destroyed. RTV suffered the next losses on June 21, 2014, when the radar station in Avdiivka was destroyed as a result of mortar shelling. Observers note that part of the 36D6, P-18 and P-19 radars was redeployed from the western regions of Ukraine to the east of the country. This is due not so much to an attempt to repel the raids of Russian aviation, but to control the flights of their combat aircraft in the ATO zone.
If things are more or less normal with the production of radars in Ukraine, then with long-range anti-aircraft systems everything is not as good as the Ukrainian leadership would like. As already mentioned, after the division of the Soviet legacy, independent Ukraine received huge reserves of equipment and weapons, which seemed inexhaustible in the early 90s. For Ukrainian politicians and generals, the future seemed cloudless, and the stocks of Soviet weapons seemed completely redundant. In the mid-90s, in the process of reforming the armed forces of Ukraine, the first reductions were made to air defense systems, where the C-75M2 and C-125 air defense systems of early modifications were in service. Dozens of complexes were sent for recycling, and with them more than 2000 missiles 20D, 15D, 13D, 5V27. In the second half of the 90s, it was the turn of the S-75M3 and S-125M. However, they were no longer recklessly disposed of, but tried to sell to countries that already had experience in the operation and combat use of Soviet air defense systems. It is known that in the late 90s and early 2000s, several complexes sailed to countries with hot climates. Following the "Volkhov" and "Neva" came the turn of the "Angara". All S-200A with 5V21 missiles were subject to write-off due to the expiration of the missile's service life and the lack of conditioned fuel components.
Layout of medium and long-range air defense systems and radar on the territory of Ukraine as of 2010
The color of the icons means the following:
- purple triangles: SAM S-200;
- red triangles: S-300PT and S-300PS air defense systems;
- orange triangles: S-300V air defense system;
- squares: storage bases for equipment and weapons of air defense missile systems;
- blue circles: airspace survey radar;
- red circles: 64N6 airspace surveillance radar attached to the S-300P air defense system.
Airspace surveillance radar 64N6 in position near Kiev
As of 2010, about three dozen medium and long-range anti-aircraft systems and complexes were in working order in Ukraine - mainly the S-300PT and S-300PS air defense systems. Thanks to the heroic efforts of the calculations and the carrying out of refurbishment, several missiles, armed with long-range S-200Vs, survived until 2013. But at the moment there are no more workable complexes of this type in Ukraine. The last to be disbanded was the unit of the 540th Lviv regiment.
The position of the S-300PT air defense system near Kiev
Organizationally, air defense missile systems are part of the Air Force of Ukraine. Until recently, this country had 13 anti-aircraft missile brigades and regiments, where about 20 S-300PT / PS air defense systems are formally in service. It is difficult to name the exact number of combat-ready Ukrainian S-300Ps, since most of the equipment of the Ukrainian anti-aircraft battalions is extremely worn out. The newest long-range anti-aircraft system in the Ukrainian armed forces is the S-Z00PS, which has been produced since 1983. The warranty service life of the S-300PS before overhaul was set at 25 years, and the latest air defense systems available in Ukraine were produced in 1990. In the near future, the S-300PS will remain the only long-range anti-aircraft missile system in the Ukrainian air defense system. Now in the air defense of Ukraine they are capable of carrying a constant combat alert of no more than 10 missiles, to maintain them in a working condition, the Ukrainian military has to engage in "cannibalism", dismantling serviceable blocks from other complexes and anti-aircraft systems. This is not to say that no measures were taken to remedy this situation. In Ukraine, the Center for Armaments and Military Equipment has been created in order to solve the problems of maintaining air defense equipment and weapons in a combat-ready state, as well as its repair and modernization. The center is a special structural subdivision of the State Enterprise "Ukroboronservice". The enterprise is working on extending the service life of the S-300PS air defense missile system and the 5V55R air defense missile system. It is known about eight S-300PS missiles that underwent refurbishment by 2013. As a result, the service life of the S-300PS air defense system after repair was extended by 5 years. However, the continuation of work in this direction is hindered by the debt of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense for the repaired equipment. In addition to anti-aircraft systems, the 5N83S command posts are being repaired and partially modernized. For the Ukrainian army, it is necessary to carry out such work on five launchers, each of which closes up to 6 zrdn. Also, the repair of equipment and weapons is carried out in the interests of foreign customers. In 2007, a contract was fulfilled for the repair of the S-300PS divisional kit for the Ministry of Defense of Kazakhstan. In 2012, the repair of the 5N83S command post for Kazakhstan was completed and a new contract was signed for the repair of the S-300PS air defense system. In 2011, the State Enterprise "Ukroboronservis" repaired individual components of the S-300PS air defense system, which belonged to the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus.
Difficulties in maintaining combat-ready medium and long-range anti-aircraft systems led to the fact that the country's centralized air defense system included a few military long-range air defense systems S-300V and medium-range air defense systems "Buk-M1". In Ukraine, there are two S-300V brigades and three regiments where the Buk-M1 is in service. As for the S-300V, they have no chance that these long-range army tracked air defense systems will remain in service. In Ukraine, there is simply no necessary material base to maintain them in service. The Buk-M1 medium-range air defense missile system and the 9M38M1 missile defense system are undergoing refurbishment at the Ukroboronservice enterprises with a 7-10 year lifespan extension. In the mid-2000s, two missiles from the Ukrainian air defense forces were delivered to Georgia after repairs. One battalion of the Buk-M1 air defense missile system was captured by Russian troops in the Georgian port of Poti shortly after unloading. Apparently, an attempt by Ukrainian enterprises to create the Artyom State Holding Company, the Luch Design Bureau and the Arsenal NVO ZUR ZR-27 failed. It was planned to replace the 9M38M1 missile in the Buk-M1 air defense missile system with this missile, created on the basis of the R-27 air combat missile system. The R-27 rocket has been produced since 1983 at the Kiev enterprise of the Artyom State Holding Company and was used as part of weapons around the world on the MiG-29, Su-27 and Su-30 fighters. If successful, this would allow Ukraine to begin building its own medium-range air defense systems over time and retain the enterprise where the R-27 missiles were produced.
However, it is impossible to repair, modernize and extend the service life of Soviet equipment indefinitely. If at Ukrainian enterprises it was possible to establish the manufacture of new electronic blocks using their own and imported element base, then the situation with anti-aircraft missiles is very bad. There is no production of long-range solid-propellant missiles in Ukraine, and there are no prerequisites for its establishment. Before relations between our countries were spoiled, Ukrainian representatives probed the soil for the supply of modernized S-300Ps from Russia. Also, the issue of modernizing the existing Ukrainian S-300PS air defense systems was being worked out with the aim of using modern Russian-made 48N6E2 missiles in them. In 2006, negotiations were held between Ukrainian and Russian special exporters on the modernization of the S-300PS air defense missile system and the Buk-M1 air defense missile system, the developers of which remained on the territory of the Russian Federation. The parties agreed to establish a joint venture. On the Ukrainian side, the founder of the joint venture was to become the state-owned company Ukrspetsexport, and on the Russian side, FGUP Rosoboronexport. In the process of working out the agreement, Ukrainian specialists repeatedly visited Russian enterprises where anti-aircraft systems and missiles were produced. However, over time, it became clear that the Ukrainian side was not going to finance this event, and Russia did not want to bear the cost of arming a neighboring, not always friendly state. It is worth recalling that just at this time Ukraine was supplying air defense systems to Georgia, with which our country had tense relations. As a result, due to the insolvency of Ukraine in the 2000s, this project was not implemented, and now all military-technical cooperation between our countries has ceased.
Thus, we can confidently assert that the Ukrainian air defense system will continue to degrade. In independent Ukraine, in the past, there was no necessary financial resources to acquire new modern long-range anti-aircraft systems and fighters. They do not exist now, but even if they were found, in the current situation, the supply of weapons from the United States, Europe and Israel to a country with an unresolved internal armed conflict is impossible. It got to the point that in Ukraine they remembered the Soviet low-altitude air defense systems S-125, which were at the storage bases. Independent Ukraine from the USSR air defense got about 40 S-125 air defense systems with a large stock of missiles, spare parts and components. Most of them were fairly "fresh" C-125M / M1. Taking advantage of this circumstance, the Ukrainian authorities began to actively trade in the Soviet legacy at dumping prices. Georgia received the C-125 repaired in Ukraine, but in the 2008 conflict, these complexes, due to the inability of the Georgians to control them, were not used. It was reported about the supply of S-125 air defense systems and their individual elements to African countries, including those where there were active hostilities. So, Uganda purchased four S-125 air defense systems and 300 missiles in Ukraine in 2008. Subsequently, these anti-aircraft systems ended up in the belligerent South Sudan. Another well-known customer of the Ukrainian S-125 air defense systems was Angola, which received a batch of Ukrainian complexes under a contract concluded in 2010.
Ukrainian SAM S-125-2D ("Pechora-2D"), modernized by NPP "Aerotechnika"
In Ukraine itself, the last non-modernized S-125s were removed from combat duty in 2005. In the spring of 2015, information appeared about the intention of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to adopt the S-125-2D "Pechora-2D" anti-aircraft missile system, created on the basis of the late modification of the C-125M1. According to the Ukrainian media, in the course of the modernization, all fixed assets of the complex were refined. This modernization option, originally intended for export, was developed at the Aerotechnika research and production enterprise in Kiev. SAM S-125-2D was tested in 2010. According to the developers, the resource of the air defense missile system has been increased by 15 years, the tasks of increasing the reliability, mobility, survivability of the complex and resistance to radio-electronic interference have been solved. It is reported that at the moment the modernization and extension of the service life of the 5V27D missile defense system to 15 years and the transfer of all elements of the complex to a mobile chassis are underway. If the modernized S-125-2D air defense system is adopted, this will be a purely forced measure, designed to at least partially patch the holes in the air defense system of Ukraine. When showing the S-125-2D "Pechora-2D" air defense system, the Ukrainian leadership was told that this complex was designed to solve air defense missions in the ATO zone, but in reality it could be on alert, providing anti-aircraft cover for stationary objects in the near zone. There are still about 10 S-125M1 air defense systems at Ukrainian storage bases, which are planned to be brought to the level of S-125-2D.
The Air Defense of the Ground Forces has about 200 short-range air defense systems "Osa-AKM" and "Strela-10M" and about 80 ZSU ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" and ZRPK "Tunguska". The state of all this equipment is not known for certain, but it can be assumed that, given the lack of funding, most of it needs to be repaired. As well as the medium and long-range air defense systems, the hardware part of the bulk of the military anti-aircraft systems is outdated morally and physically, and the air defense missiles, which have not been delivered to the troops for more than 20 years, have long expired storage periods and have a low degree of reliability. In recent years, about a dozen of Strela-10M, Osa-AKM, Tunguska air defense systems and about a hundred Igla-1 MANPADS have been restored and modernized at repair enterprises, but this is what is called a drop in the ocean. With such a rate of supply of anti-aircraft weapons to the troops, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense runs the risk of being left without military air defense.
SAM T-382 for SAM T38 "Stilet"
As part of a radical improvement in the combat characteristics of the Osa-AKM air defense system, a new mobile air defense system T38 Stilet was created in cooperation with the Republic of Belarus. The developer of the hardware part of the complex is the Belarusian enterprise "Tetraedr", the base was the off-road wheeled chassis MZKT-69222T, and a new bicaliber missile defense system was created in the "State Kiev Design Bureau" Luch. then, compared with the 9M33M3 SAM "Osa-AKM", the launch range of the T-382 missile for the T38 air defense system has doubled, and the target speed has also doubled. But for the production of a full-fledged air defense system, this is clearly not enough. It is extremely doubtful that in the current conditions Belarus will supply anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine, and it is unlikely that they will be able to create their own analogue of Stilet independently in the foreseeable future, even with a package of technical documentation.
