Supplies by the United Kingdom of classified anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine was disclosed to the public in 2024. This year, on January 16, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed the name of this secret weapon: Gravehawk, adding that 15 of them will be delivered, with two prototypes already protecting Ukrainian skies.
All these details matched the description of an air defense system that was known to be covertly supplied beforehand and only a few times appeared in frontline videos on social media, namely the mysterious mobile launcher for AIM-132 ASRAAM missiles mounted on a Supacat HMT truck. Linking the two together, many assumed Gravehawk was its official name.
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However, as it turns out, those two are actually completely different missile systems, and when Keir Starmer said that Gravehawk fits into a single sea shipping container and uses Ukrainian missiles, he meant exactly that. As shown in a video obtained by BFBS Forces News from the UK Ministry of Defense, Gravehawk is literally made in the form of an intermodal freight container and uses Ukrainian-made R-73 missiles.
According to the report, Gravehawk is a short-range system because the R-73, when launched from the ground, can intercept threats within an estimated range of 12 km, at altitudes up to several kilometers. This is enough to defeat such threats as cruise missiles and drones or deploy a local air cover for a particular potential target.
The R-73 missiles are placed on standard pylons under a sliding roof. The launcher accommodates two missiles and perhaps can extend outward from the container because otherwise the infrared homing guidance and launch of missiles becomes limited to a very narrow sector.
The R-73s were integrated into a new fire control system that uses an electro-optical targeting system. Most likely, it includes both optical and thermal imaging channels and a laser rangefinder to determine the distance to the target.
A separate photo in the article shows the control panel for the said EOTS, which allows the system operator to track and lock on targets and fire missiles. The controller is similar to a regular gamepad for a gaming console.
Gravehawk's chassis is a truck with a multi-lift to lower or raise the container with the missile system independently.
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