Ukrainian forces disrupt Russian air defences with precision strikes

Ukrainians are methodically working to reduce Russian potential by eliminating key targets, including self-propelled anti-aircraft systems. For such valuable targets, Ukrainians will utilise precious M30A1 GMLRS rockets. Here is a detailed analysis of their performance.

Both Ukrainians and Russians face challenges with air defence, making every anti-aircraft system fall under valuable targets. The Buk-M1-2 system visible in the video below is a solution from the late 1990s, intended to combat aircraft at distances up to 40 kilometres or ballistic missiles below 20 kilometres.

However, these capabilities did not save it from the GMLRS rocket, which most likely approached from behind or the sides, beyond the detection capabilities of Buk's sector radar. The footage shows an explosion in the air, indicating an M30A1 rocket, showering the Buk with a volley of tungsten fragments, causing the transported missiles to explode.

Produced since 2015, the M30A1 rockets with a range of up to 80 kilometres are a variant designed to offer comparable area-targeting capabilities to the controversial M30 version with a cluster warhead, without its main drawback. This drawback refers to leaving unexploded ordnance, posing a considerable threat even decades after the war.

For this purpose, a new warhead called AW (short for Alternative Warhead) was developed. It contains an explosive charge surrounded by 182,000 tungsten balls and is designed to explode at a height of about 10 metres above the ground. The result is a hail of fragments with enough energy to pierce even thin steel armour, not to mention the bodies of rockets or the bulletproof vests or helmets of soldiers.

Interestingly, a tungsten fragment has kinetic energy similar to a hardened steel core bullet fired from an AKM or AK-74 rifle.