HIMARS, Leopard-2 and Storm Shadow disappoint Ukraine on the battlefield

The biggest conflict in Europe since World War II saw the rise of drones and precision-guided munitions, as well as the disappointment of weapons that were expected to change the balance of power on the battlefield.

The HIMARS rocket launcher was one of the first Western weapons aided to Kiev. This was followed by NATO main battle tanks such as Abrams, Challengers or Leopards, and air defense systems such as Patriots, and Storm Shadow missiles. However, so far, all of these weapons have not been able to help Ukraine make a breakthrough.

HIMARS did not create a turning point in the Russia-Ukraine war

According to the latest figures from the Russian Ministry of Defense , the total losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the south of Donetsk were more than 1,500 soldiers, 28 tanks, including Leopard 8 produced by FRG, 3 AMX-10 wheeled tanks made by France and 109 other armored vehicles.

Western military analysts admit that Russia did not use all its strength or be subjective in the face of Ukraine. Moscow did not apply the “Iraq model”, instead they chose to prolong the campaign, exchanging space for time, causing the enemy’s vitality to be exhausted and then gaining the upper hand thanks to strategic depth.

Meanwhile, on June 3, images showing a Ukrainian Air Force Su-24 Fencer fighter jet equipped with Storm Shadow cruise missiles went viral on social media, attracting considerable attention from observers.

Aviation and defense writers commented that the images confirm Kiev's successful integration of advanced weapons onto the Su-24M and its reconnaissance variant, Su-24MR, demonstrating Ukraine's efforts to optimize existing resources.

Image of a Ukrainian Su-24 aircraft equipped with two Storm Shadow missiles donated by the UK

The Storm Shadow, jointly developed by Britain and France, is a stealthy air-to-surface missile with an impressive range of up to 155 miles (250 km), second only to the range of the US ATACMS tactical warheads that Ukraine has long “desired.”

Last weekend, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense said that the country had intercepted two Storm Shadow missiles, two Tochka-U tactical missiles, and 14 HIMARS and Uragan rockets within just 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Poland delivered the first batch of Leopard-2A4s to Ukraine on February 24, but this version is one of the oldest tank models still in service.

Defense analysts say the 2A4 is designed to fight under escort from infantry forces and other powerful air support assets.

Born during the Cold War, Leopard MBT is not capable of defending against improvised explosive devices (IEDs), anti-tank missiles (ATGMs) or suicide UAVs - the weapons that are the symbol of the current Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Leopard-2 main battle tank also fought in Ukraine, but it was only the "old" 2A4 version.

Meanwhile, Russia has increased the protection of its command centers and key warehouses with GPS jammers, significantly reducing the accuracy of weapons such as HIMARS rocket artillery. The UK-based military consultancy RUSI said that “Russian air defense systems appear to have achieved the capability to intercept significant numbers of M31 hypersonic missiles launched from HIMARS.”

According to RUSI, the Russian military is using a combination of the S-300VM long-range surveillance system and S-400 squadrons to protect important targets. Meanwhile, Moscow's short-range air defense systems such as the Pantsir and Tor-M-series are also being "massively improved", integrated with long-range interception systems with the support of the 48Ya6 Podlets-K1 radar.

Powerful electronic warfare systems like Shipovnik-Aero help Russia gain an advantage in the war with Ukraine

Russia is currently deploying large electronic warfare (EW) batteries every six miles, typically about four miles from the front line. These systems are primarily aimed at disabling Ukrainian drones, particularly the Shipovnik-Aero system, which can disguise its signals to look like normal electronic devices to increase safety.

Russia also integrates at least one anti-drone system, typically a jamming gun, into each soldier platoon, RUSI said.

In addition, the country's signals intelligence (SIGINT) system has become proficient at intercepting and decoding signals, even from 256-bit encryption devices, in real time. The Russian military is said to be capable of jamming radio stations six miles from the front line. For long-range jamming, Moscow uses specialized Mi-17 helicopters.

(According to EurAsian Times)

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