The Soviet-era Kub surface-to-air missile system, originally developed in the 1960s to counter manned aircraft, has returned to service with the Ukrainian Air Force in an entirely new role. Once designed for Cold War air battles, the system has now been adapted to effectively counter mass attacks by strike unmanned aerial vehicles.
The combat debut of the modernized Kub system was reported by Ukraine's Center Air Command. According to the command, Ukrainian specialists carried out a deep adaptation of the system, combining its proven hardware base with modern command-and-control elements and updated combat tactics tailored to today's threat environment.
Read more: Air Defense UAVs, Cannons, EW Systems as well as APKWS Tested in Ukraine Are Components of the SAN C-UAV System Ordered by Poland
This transformation has already produced tangible results. The crew operating the upgraded Kub system has reportedly destroyed five Shahed-type attack drones, demonstrating that even legacy air defense platforms can remain relevant when properly modernized and intelligently employed.
Notably, Kub systems rarely appear in public reports on air defense activity. However, it is precisely such less visible assets that now play a critical role in covering specific sectors of Ukrainian airspace, particularly against large-scale drone attacks aimed at overwhelming more modern and limited air defense systems.
The revival of the Kub system reflects a broader Ukrainian approach to air defense under conditions of sustained missile and drone pressure. Rather than relying solely on scarce modern systems, Ukraine has focused on restoring and adapting available platforms to fill gaps and create a layered defense architecture.
As Defense Express previously reported,the United States has allocated $1.025 billion for the production of the new Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) radar, a key upgrade intended to address one of the most critical weaknesses of the Patriot air and missile defense system.
The radar is designed to significantly improve Patriot system's effectiveness against modern ballistic threats, including russia's Iskander-M missiles.
Read more: Counter russia's Iskander-M System: the U.S. Locks in LTAMDS Radar Production for Patriot System Through 2030
