It became known that Ukraine will receive MIM-23 Hawk SAM systems in 2022. They have been helping Ukrainian Air Force to repel missile and drone attacks of the russian occupation forces for a long time. The Ukrainian Air Force published a conversation with one of the operators of this system. This is 24-year-old Oleksandr, who was trained in Spain for this system.
The serviceman says that during the training, the instructors said that "due to certain technical features, the systems are not really designed for drones".But, during the first air battle, Oleksandr's MIM-23 Hawk repelled an attack of Shahed kamikaze drones.
Read more: Ukrainian Yak-52 Aircraft Uses WWI Tactics to Shoot Down russian Drone (Photo)
"The adrenaline was pumping! We were repelling the air attack almost all night. The anti-aircraft warfare lasted for more than 6 hours," the serviceman says. He notes that they managed to destroy six attack drones launched by russian occupiers.
According to Oleksandr, the drones such as Shahed are the most annoying. And it is not that difficult to destroy them, but to wait for the battle. He emphasizes that it is easier to counter the missiles, even when they are aimed directly at their SAM system.
He tells about an episode when russians launched three Kh-59 cruise missiles against MIM-23 Hawk. They were constantly changing altitude during the flight. However, the crew managed to shoot down all three missiles. Oleksandr notes that the synchronized and coordinated work of the unit is very important.
Ukrainian serviceman also notes that a number of the unit's work remains "behind the scenes."This includes not only direct counteraction to russian missiles and drones, but also maintenance of the system, arrangement of shelters and positions, camouflage, redeployment, etc.
The Ukrainian Air Force also showed a photo of the MIM-23 Hawk SAM system with images of at least 20 Shahed attack drones, three Kh-59 missiles, and one Kh-101. This means that all of them were destroyed.
It is worth recalling that the transfer of these SAM systems was announced in 2022. For the first time, the operation of the MIM-23 Hawk was demonstrated in a video by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in October of 2023. And in April of this year, it became known that the Defense Security Cooperation Agency of the U.S. had agreed to repair and modernize HAWK air defense systems for Ukrainian.
Earlier Defense Express reported that Ukrainian S-125 air defense system from the 1960s had first shot down a Kalibr and then over fifty more russian missiles and UAVs.
Read more: Single Propeller-Driven Yak-52 Took Down Eight Orlan-10 and ZALA Drones
