During the battles for the Kherson region, Ukrainian forces took down a rather rare 1L261 radar station of the russian "Zoopark-1M" counter-battery system, as indicated by the photos published by the Tysk community and the StratCom of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This is likely the second ever time this system got destroyed by the Ukrainian army since the russians invaded the country. The first time was in August during the battles up the Dnipro river in southeastern Ukraine.
Read more: Ukraine’s Most Valuable Trophies in Kharkiv Oblast: Why Zoopark-1M Radar And Orlan UAV More Precious Than a Tank Company
Also, from open data, we know that two such systems became trophies for the Ukrainian military, back in March, and in September during the Kharkiv counteroffensive campaign. Apparently, the Ukrainian specialists took their time to examine and study the captured 1L261 station.
This circumstance could be the reason why the authors of the Ukraine Weapons Tracker OSINT community stated that "Zoopark-1M" can detect artillery systems of Soviet 152mm and NATO 155mm calibers on distances not exceeding 23 kilometers.
Meanwhile, the firing range of a 155mm M109 howitzer with standard ammunition is 22 km, and the Polish AHS "Krab" self-propelled gun can hit targets more than 30 km away. Widely used by Ukrainians 2S19 "Msta-S" self-propelled howitzer of the Soviet-era has a range of 25 km with standard ammunition.
In summary, the "Zoopark-1M", according to the OSINT researchers, has a lesser detection range than the firing range of enemy artillery. This blunder by russian creators of the radar system is quite odd considering that the russian defense industry always tries to compete against western technologies, yet did not adjust their counter-battery system for a potential "conflict with NATO".
Read more: How Globally the Rules Change In the South of Ukraine After Kherson Liberation
