The Armed Forces of Ukraine released the first public official video of the surface-to-air missile system that has received new missiles. The 1129th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment showed the relevant video. Later it was also published by the Operational Command North.
The video is dedicated to the fight against russian reconnaissance UAVs. The video captures the launch and successful damage of such a target using a standard 9M33 missile, which has radio command guidance.
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But attention should be paid to the other missile, which is on the other side of the launcher. Although at this range we can tell that it is white and has developed empennage. This is the first official video by the Armed Forces of Ukraine with R-73 air-to-air missile mounted on the Osa SAM system. Although a photo of this system with such missiles has been reported by some media for quite some time, but there has been no official image before.
As Defense Express, we note that the use of the R-73 as a surface-to-air missile is a rather logical way, given the need to provide Soviet air defense systems with missiles in general. At the same time, the R-73 is a rather interesting option. Because it is a missile with the range of target destruction of about 12 km when it is launched from the ground. At least that is the range that the Yugoslavs got with their Pracka RL-4 system. This is 2-3 kilometers further than the capabilities of the standard 9M33 missile, which weighs slightly more (128 kg vs. 105 kg) but has a more powerful warhead (15 kg vs. 8 kg).
But the difference between these missiles is actually quite significant. The 9M33 uses radio command guidance, i.e., it is controlled by the SAM system, while the R-73 has an infrared homing. That is why the 9M33 is better used to defeat drones, while the R-73 can demonstrate better results against cruise missiles and other targets.
It should be noted that the R-73 missile was chosen as a weapon for Magura V5 naval drones, which, through this integration, became the first unmanned naval air defense systems. The moderate dimensions of the missile and the capabilities of the MK-80 homing with a 75-degree field of view and 45-degree aiming angles obviously played in favor of this decision.
Although a maritime drone's thermal imaging camera can detect targets, the operator must orient the missile toward the target and wait for the homing to lock onto the drone. Approximately the same algorithm should be used by the operator of the Osa SAM system to launch the R-73 missiles.
It should also be noted that the integration of the R-73 air-to-air missile on the Osa SAM system will not be very different from the integration of a similar air-to-air missile with an AIM-9 infrared homing. But it also should be recalled that the United States has officially announced about transferring AIM-9M to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the FrankenSAM project.
Earlier Defense Express reported that S-400 had taken a hit from Ukrainian HIMARS rocket.
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