Ukrainian fighters from the 11th brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine set an absolute record for destroying russian weapons with an FPV drone. Thanks to their skill, the launcher of the S-350 Vytyaz SAM system was destroyed.
The video of the successful attack was posted by Ukrainian volunteer Serhiy Sternenko. It shows the approach of the first drone to the target, which, although it lost the signal in the area, but hit the targe. This was already registred by the second drone, which recorded the destruction and was directed to another target nearby.
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Judging by the large-scale fire, it was not a mock-up of the SAM system. The fact that the target was destroyed on the territory of the left-bank part of the Kherson region indicates that the drone traveled a sufficiently large distance to deliver such an attack - such SAM systems are not placed in the shelter of the front line.
Serhiy Sternenko notes that the cost of such a launcher from the S-350 SAM system is $135 million. This is the most expensive target destroyed by FPV drones purchased by volunteers in Ukraine. The previous "record" concerned the destruction of the russian Tor missile defense system, the cost of which is estimated at 24 million dollars.
On the part of Defense Express, we note that the S-350 SAM system for the russian federation is extremely new and not widely used. The transfer of the first divisional set of this system was announced in 2019, and in 2020 Almaz-Antey, the manufacturer of this system, received an order for three regimental sets of S-350 Vityaz SAM systems with a deadline of 2023. It is currently unknown whether this contract has been fulfilled.
This SAM system quite rarely falls into the lenses of the russian so-called military bloggers. For example, in August 2022, the S-350 SAM system was spotted at the Taganrog airfield.
The S-350 SAM system is a medium-range air defense system with a range of up to 60 km, provided with 9M96 surface-to-air missiles, which are also integrated into the S-400 air defense system. A feature of the complex is its digitization, which, according to advertising data, allows firing at 8 targets simultaneously. The Russian Federation also boasts that the S-350 can operate in automatic mode without the operator's participation.
It can be assumed that the consequence of defeating this system may be that the Russian military leadership will be forced to keep these systems away from the front line. This, in turn, will contribute to the intensification of the actions of the Ukrainian aviation on the battlefield.
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