Ukrainian forces intensify destruction of Russian anti-aircraft systems
Operators of the 3rd Independent Regiment of Special Operations Forces of Ukraine have boasted about destroying another piece of Russian equipment. This marks the fourth 9K37 Buk surface-to-air guided missile system eliminated within three weeks. We highlight its capabilities.
As Defense Express reports, the Russian Federation army lost three Buk systems recently. All were destroyed around the end of April and the beginning of May. Now, the Ukrainians add another machine of this type to the list of losses. Four destroyed Buks represent – as we read – half of a battalion of these vehicles.
The series of four destroyed Buks is not the only loss since the beginning of the war. Ukrainians regularly target this equipment due to its effectiveness and purpose – Buk was created as an anti-aircraft system. Therefore, in recent months of the conflict in Ukraine, several pieces of evidence have surfaced confirming the destruction of these systems. Now, however, the hunt for Buks has become more intense. The latest attack was carried out using a kamikaze drone.
Buk medium-range anti-aircraft system
The 9K37 Buk is a surface-to-air guided missile system developed in the late 1970s. The weapon was introduced in 1979 to replace the ageing 2K12 Kub system from the previous decade.
The designers of the 9K37 Buk aimed to create a weapon capable of intercepting difficult targets, including aeroplanes, helicopters, and cruise missiles. Ensuring appropriate resistance to interference was also crucial.
The 9K37 system missile measures 5.5 metres in length and weighs nearly 700 kilograms, with the warhead alone weighing 70 kilograms. Effective guidance of the missile to its target is achieved through semi-active radar homing. This allows for a probability of target destruction of up to 90% in the case of aeroplanes and about 40% when targeting cruise missiles.
Based on the standard 9K37 Buk system, several additional versions of this weapon have been created. These include the naval variant 3K90 M-22 Uragan, which is found aboard various Russian destroyers of Project 956 (ships built since the 1980s). The newest version of the Buk is the 9K317M Buk-M3 variant, which is equipped with six missiles with a range of up to 70 kilometres (about double compared to the basic version). The specifications of this weapon are not precisely known, though it has been in service since at least 2016.
