Ukraine shot down an unprecedented number of Russian fighters last February (Reuters)

The British newspaper The Telegraph published a report explaining the increase in shooting down Russian fighters by Ukrainian air defenses last February, saying that the secret lies in a new piece of equipment that America does not possess.

Writer David Ax stated that the Ukrainian Air Force continued its unprecedented shooting down operations of Russian fighters last month, as it shot down 13 Russian fighters in 12 days.

The writer wondered how this was done?

What has changed to make Russian aircraft more vulnerable, and is there a lesson for the wider world from the “February air massacre”?

Intensity of Russian air sorties

He answers that it is clear that the Russian Air Force escalated its operations and deployed several hundred of its fighters, numbering about a thousand, in addition to many support aircraft for air sorties over Ukraine last February, to the point that the total rate of Russian sorties exceeded the height of the Battle of Avdiivka in mid-February. Last February, 100 sorties a day.

He said: "Of course, more air sorties mean more air targets and more exchanges of fire, but the high pace of Russian sorties may not be the only factor in the large number of downed Russian fighters."

Organization of Patriot units

He continued to say that beginners explain this by saying that the Ukrainians took some components of the three American-made Patriot missile batteries - their best air defense batteries - and organized them into mobile units.

Rapidly transporting the quad Patriot launchers directly behind the front line, after connecting them to long-range radars via a wireless data link, enables Russian aircraft to be ambushed 145 kilometers away before the Russians can open fire.

It appears to be this tactic that allowed the Ukrainians to shoot down several Russian planes late last year, while amounting to a preview of the bloodiest February campaign.

Processors, radio connections, and algorithms

The writer returns to deny the previous explanation, saying: “But there was one major downing, which was the destruction of a rare Russian Beriev A-50 radar plane over the Sea of ​​Azov on February 23 and shooting it down 304 kilometers from the front line, which is a very far distance from unity.” "Patriot, which launches a missile weighing one ton, denies the previous explanation."

The writer said that the secret lies in a piece consisting of a set of processors, radio links and algorithms that allow pretty much any air defense radar and pretty much any air defense missile to work together.

He added that it was likely that the Ukrainian air defenders had all-round visibility and were heavily armed, and were prepared to take advantage of the opportunity presented to them by the Russian pilots when the pilots rose into the air over Avdiivka.

Source: Telegraph