Pretty large to try and smuggle undetected thru enemy lines into known flight corridors but maybe possible.
I think the planes we’re talking about operate at too great an altitude for hand-held infrared missiles to engage. This was most likely some sort of a radar-guided weapon.
They might have hit it but it was still operational A US-made Patriot system was likely damaged in an 'intense' missile attack in Ukraine involving Russia's Kinzhal, US official says
It was operational before it was ‘damaged.’ See also: earlier Kinzhal shot down that was either a pipe or a glide bomb.
Patriot systems are limited to pinpoint defense of major assets and are designed to operate in tandem with air defenses engaging targets at higher and lower altitudes. Without these additions, Patriot will have too many threats to engage and the result will either be porous coverage that doesn’t protect its defended assets, or coverage that quickly subsides when Patriot runs out of interceptors. Moreover, Patriot systems are themselves vulnerable. Operating a Patriot radar system gives away its location, making it an open target for Russian attacks. This means that Patriot is not a one-stop-shop for defending Ukraine’s military assets or its people. Me: proven prescient yesterday … Patriot Missiles Won’t Save Ukraine
I remember during the Gulf War when Saddam was firing all of those Scud missiles at Israel and we had given Israel the Patriot system to defend itself.. There was a lot of live video of the Patriot system in action. It was pretty awe inspiring.
What elevation do they launch the guided bombs from? Didn’t know patriot had 90+ mile range. This article was written before the event and describes it in detail. Only way to defeat the guided bombs is take out launch planes. Launch windows seem to have been protected by helicopter borne missile or drone jamming systems that failed miserably. Maybe the reality that patriot can protect itself and clear the skies for 90 miles is depressing for the pilots. Hopefully they get more units active or innovate to make them mobile. Ukraine Situation Report: Russian Guided Bombs A Growing Threat, Kyiv Claims Every day, about 20 guided air bombs fly into the front-line areas. They are made by the Russian method, recently and not always of high quality," Col. Yuri Ignat said during a press briefing. “Those bombs can fly about 70 kilometers (about 43 miles) and they may target the facilities of critical infrastructure, kindergartens, residential areas and educational and medical institutions and we cannot counter this type of ammunition. Our air defense is inefficient against the bombs themselves but we should rather try to down the Su-34 strike fighter carriers of this ammunition
No idea. But I would think at too high an altitude and certainly with greater stand-off than the maximum effective height and range of, say, a Stinger.
the west needs to make it painful for Iran to keep sending drones and/or missiles to Russia. Both South Africa and Iran need to be frozen out for enabling Russia to continue to attack Ukraine Russia aims to obtain more attack drones from Iran after depleting stockpile, White House says (msn.com) Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office announced Monday it was sending Ukraine hundreds more air defense missiles, as well as “long-range attack drones” with a reach of more than 200 kilometers (120 miles). The announcement came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Britain and unsuccessfully pressed Sunak to provide Ukraine with fighter jets as Ukraine prepares for a long-anticipated spring offensive to retake territory that Russia has seized.
France to send long range missiles. Ukraine Situation Report: France Sending SCALP-EG Cruise Missiles With a stated range in excess of 155 miles, these missiles give Ukraine's forces additional munitions that exceed the range and punch of anything previously provided by the United States or the country's other international partners, at least that we know about. The missiles, which contain warheads capable of penetrating hardened targets, have stealthy features and use low-altitude flight profiles to reduce the possibility of interception. You can read more about what these missiles bring to the table for the Ukrainian Air Force in our previous deep dive on Storm Shadow
Russia plans to put the scientists involved in their hypersonic missile program on trial for treason. Supposedly, it is not because of the embarrassment of the failure of the missile, it is because they may have talked too much at international science conventions and given away too much information, allowing the U.S. to figure out how to defeat it. (But we really know it is because of the embarrassment of the failure of the missile.) Russia says hypersonic missile scientists face 'very serious' treason accusations (yahoo.com) How do Russia's young scientists feel about all this? Enthusiastic? Ohh. That's a nice long-term effect for Russia. "Barbarian no like science. Need blood to run like river. Time for killing. Ooo-gah! Oo-gah-boo-gah!"
