An article titled "Shield Repair" appeared in one of the spring issues of the Ukrainian specialized publication "Defense Express". Its author, Vladimir Tkach, gives examples of samples of anti-aircraft missile systems that are in service with the Ukrainian army, and also gives certain characteristics of their condition and prospects. In particular, the article deals with the fact that the Ukrainian army is armed with about 60 divisions of anti-aircraft missile systems, but this year the age of the youngest kit will be two decades, while the oldest is almost forty years old.
At the same time, it should be noted that each of these complexes has a warranty period of operation. So, for the S-300, it was determined at 25 years old (most of the complexes were produced in the late 80s - early 90s). Spare parts for them have long been out of production, and it is also no longer possible to remove the missing parts from the samples in storage.
The repair of the S-300 complexes, which began back in 2004, is carried out by the Ukroboronservis enterprise. The Center for Military Equipment and Weapons was specially created here. And according to the results of the joint work of the Ukrainian and Russian commissions, it was decided that the technological, technical and documentary base of the enterprise is quite suitable for carrying out repair work on the components of the S-300 complex and increasing their service life. In addition, this enterprise has all the necessary documentary base for the repair work of the Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile systems. In addition, in the fall of 2012, acceptance tests of the S-300PT complex were carried out at the enterprise. According to the military officials present at the tests, the repair work was carried out at a fairly high professional level and, importantly, was completed on time. According to their statements, after the repair, these complexes meet all the requirements of the present time. Thus, as of 2013, 8 divisions of the S-300PS complex have already been repaired, the service life of which has been extended by five thousand hours or five years.
The timeliness and need for repair work is obvious, because almost all the complexes that are in service with the Ukrainian army have exhausted their operational resources, determined by the manufacturer.
Currently, the air forces of the Ukrainian army are armed with such complexes and systems as "" Buk-M1 ", SAM S-200V, SAM S-300PS, ZRS-300V1. Previously, the S-125 complexes were also in service, but they were removed several years ago. The most modern of them are considered to be the S-200 and S-300 complexes. All modifications of the S-300 complex that are in the military, according to technical documentation, can hit air targets that fly at an altitude of about 75 kilometers. Complexes S-200 have a range of destruction of the order of 150-240 kilometers. The S-300 are designed to defend industrial and administrative facilities, headquarters, stationary command posts and military bases from tactical and strategic air strikes, as well as ballistic and cruise missiles. The S-200 is designed to defend the most important industrial, administrative and military facilities against all possible types of air attack weapons. At the moment, these complexes are quite suitable for ensuring the destruction of promising and modern aircraft and unmanned and manned aerial vehicles. But the problem is that the repair work of these complexes must be carried out every ten years, and the Ukrainian armed forces, due to the constant lack of funding, cannot afford such a luxury. Hence such sad results: of all the complexes that are currently on alert, only about 40 percent are fully operational.
In addition, there is one more nuance: after a tragedy several years ago occurred during one of the military exercises in Crimea, during which Ukrainian anti-aircraft troops shot down a Russian Tu-154 aircraft over the Black Sea waters, exercises using the S- 200 and S-300 were banned on Ukrainian territory. In turn, this entailed another serious problem: every year the number of servicemen who actually fired from these complexes decreases at a catastrophic rate.
In 2003, the ban on the use of Ukrainian training grounds was lifted, however, it was still not allowed to shoot from the S-200 (and these complexes have the greatest range). Of course, Ukraine has certain agreements with Russia on the possibility of using Russian military ranges for firing, but it is simply impossible to train all anti-aircraft troops in this way. Thus, we can say that the S-200 complexes have only conditional combat readiness, and in which case it will be necessary to hope only for the S-300.
Hence, it follows that the repair of the S-300 complexes for the Ukrainian military is a very serious and urgent issue. It should be borne in mind that Russia, which is the manufacturer of this complex, considers it obsolete. Therefore, in the near future, she intends to withdraw the S-300 from production and engage in the production of exclusively the S-400. The last S-300s were produced, as we recall, back in 1994 for export, but currently there are no export orders. Ukraine also does not have the opportunity to self-repair complexes, since it does not have the appropriate components.
Thus, a situation may soon arise when all the plans of the Ukrainian army to return anti-aircraft missile weapons to service will end. Trying to solve the problems that arose, the General Staff of Ukraine started talking a few years ago about returning the S-125 "Pechora" complex, which had been adopted by the Soviet troops back in 1961, back into operation. But the question arises: where to get them, if almost immediately after they were removed from service, most of them were sold abroad?..
At the same time, the military department says that the S-125 complexes remain for about 20 divisions, and by 2015 about 9-10 modernized complexes can be returned to service. In the course of modernization, Ukrainian defense enterprises developed a modernized UNK-2D control cabin, installed a modern receiving and transmitting device and a launcher, and replaced the control systems installed in Soviet times. Thus, the upgraded S-125-2D air defense system includes the UNK-2D control center, 5P73-2D launchers, the UNV-2D antenna post and technical support equipment. The resistance to interference was increased, the target detection range increased by 20 percent. The only thing that the modernization did not touch is the 5V27 and 5V25 missiles. In addition, as part of the modernization, the level of reliability, survivability, the mobility of the complex, the resistance of the radar station to interference were increased, and the resource of the complex increased by 15 years.
As a result, tests of the upgraded complex were carried out at the Chauda test site, which, according to the developers, were very successful. Six missile launches were made in various modes. At the same time, it was found that the detection range of air targets at an altitude of about 7 kilometers is 100 kilometers. I wonder if the S-125-2D complexes will be adopted by the Ukrainian troops, or rather, whether the state will have enough funds to purchase these samples.
It should also be noted that at the end of spring 2012, the "Program for the restoration of the combat capability of the anti-aircraft troops of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine until 2017" was approved, according to which it is planned to carry out repair work on four S-300PS anti-aircraft missile systems and one Buk-M1 complex … The implementation of the program is entrusted to the Ukroboronservice enterprise.
It is assumed that the S-300PT, S-200V and S-300V1 complexes will be decommissioned, and the total number of divisions will be reduced to 40, of which one third will be Buk-M1 complexes, and two thirds - S-300PS air defense systems. However, it is also necessary to understand that it is impossible to modernize any model of military equipment and weapons indefinitely, especially if we are talking about such weapons that were created more than half a century ago. Therefore, the military department should think about the purchase of new weapons and, therefore, look for funds for this. Ukraine currently has two most realistic options to upgrade its missile systems - either start producing its own, or purchase them abroad. Earlier, it was said a lot that the Ukrainians intend to create a domestic multifunctional missile system "Sapsan", but this project was closed despite the recent statements of the military department that it is planned to allocate more than 6.5 billion hryvnia for it by 2020. Therefore, the purchase of anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia remains a more realistic prospect for Ukraine. Earlier, we will remind, the Russians have already voiced the conditions on which they agree to supply the Ukrainians with the S-300 PMU-2 Favorit complexes. However, since the S-300 were discontinued, it would be much more appropriate to talk about the procurement of the S-400 Triumph, but only if the governments of the two countries were able to find an acceptable political format for solving their problems. However, given the current uncertainty of the Ukrainian foreign policy course, such a level of mutual understanding is difficult to imagine, therefore, unfortunately, the Ukrainian military-political leadership can only strive to find this very understanding …
