Last week, on May 4, for the first time in history, the Ukrainian Air Force successfully shot down a Russian Kh-47 "Kinjal" missile using the Patriot surface-to-air missile system. The interception was confirmed by the Ukrainian Air Force and later by Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, the US representative from the Pentagon.
Meanwhile, CNN reports that two American officials revealed that the Russians intended to target the Patriot missile defense system with their hypersonic "Kinjal" missile, which they had actively promoted.
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It is worth noting that several Patriot missiles were launched at different angles to intercept the Kh-47 "Kinjal," demonstrating how quickly Ukrainian forces mastered the use of this weapon to effectively shoot down russian missiles.
The russians were able to target the Patriot system with their "Kinjal" missile because they intercepted signals from the surface-to-air missile system. The powerful radar signals emitted by the Patriot system can be detected by russian radio reconnaissance equipment, according to retired US Colonel David Shenk, as cited by The War Zone.
Shank said that a typical Patriot battery includes AN/MPQ-53 or more capable AN/MPQ-65 phased array radar, which would be the most likely target of a russian strike. Therefore, using Patriot systems in conjunction with radar decoys is important.
It is also emphasized that a full Patriot battery (with six or more launchers) is not easy to conceal, as it requires 50-60 military personnel for deployment and 25-30 personnel for operation. The battery itself occupies approximately one square kilometer. Therefore, high-quality replicas of these missile defense systems should be used to confuse the russians about the real location of the system.
Considering the impressive success of the Patriot system against the "Kinjal" missile, the russian forces will undoubtedly continue their attempts to target this powerful surface-to-air missile system. Therefore it is crucial to take various measures to effectively protect these systems from enemy attacks.
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