Ukrainian military press service talked to a squad operating the "Stugna-P" anti-tank guided missile, also known as "Skif". The troops of the 80th Air Assault Brigade said what it’s like to operate this missile and what tasks they had to perform.
"Stugna gunmen don’t work the same as artillerymen, far behind," explains one of the ATGM operators. "Working with a Stugna is a collective job. It implies cooperation between all the members of the squad. The emplacement and displacement of a Stugna must be quick."
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The soldier says before the russian all-out invasion, he operated a "Fagot" – a similar anti-tank missile, but older and with a lesser fire range (2 km in contrast to 5 km).
Another soldier says it takes a specialized education to work with the Skif. Yet the real-life experience gained during the missions is no less important.
"There was a shot, on a target 5,300 meters away. In other words, when we didn’t know the exact distance but we launched the missile nevertheless because we could see the tank clearly. The missile reached it, hit the tank, and it burnt," tells the third member of the team.
"On our own experience we make sure that the Stugna is probably the most effective missile complex in this war," he added.
It should be noted at this point that the effective range of the Skif (Stugna-P) is considered about 5,000 m, and the maximum one is 5,100 m, according to the manufacturer, "Luch" Design Bureau. Which means the shot was made even beyond the declared fire range.
This tank, which got hit by such a record-range shot, is just one of the 17 tanks destroyed by this particular ATGM-squad. Added to all the other armored vehicles eliminated by them – IFVs, APCs, airborne armored vehicles – they make 29 vehicles in total.
Skif, or Stugna-P (P stands for portable) is a Ukrainian-made anti-tank guided missile capable of piercing up to 1000 mm of armor, as well as fortifications and manpower. And as we previously could see, even some unusual targets such as helicopters.
Also, the control panel is located in a separate suitcase which enables the operator to give commands from up to 50 m away from the launcher, protecting one from backfire.
Here is the full video in Ukrainian:
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