From being cautious when deciding to provide weapons to Ukraine, now the West also supports drones capable of destroying Russian tanks.
Despite Russia's warning, the West continues to provide weapons and military equipment to Ukraine to cope with Moscow's military campaign. US President Joe Biden this week announced an $800 million weapons aid package for Ukraine.
Initially, the West was quite cautious, providing only simple weapons and equipment such as helmets and bulletproof vests. Currently, however, the aid shipments include drones capable of destroying Russian tanks and cannons at a distance of tens of kilometers.
The Guardian news agency has listed prominent weapons that the West has given Ukraine in recent weeks.
Bayraktar TB2 . unmanned aerial vehicle
This is an unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Turkey and is said to have significantly contributed to Ukraine's ability to prevent the advance of Russian forces. Bayraktar TB2 shows several attacks on Russian tanks and armored vehicles. However, the effectiveness of this type of aircraft gradually decreased after Russia established an air defense system in the battlefield.
Turkey started selling Bayraktar TB2 drones to Ukraine in 2019. Turkish officials declined to disclose how many they have sold, but according to independent estimates, Ukraine may have purchased around 50.
Bayraktar TB2 has a length of 6.5m, a wingspan of 12m, a maximum takeoff weight of 650kg, a useful payload of 150kg, equipped with a Rotax 912 internal combustion engine with a capacity of 100 horsepower, a cruise speed of 130km/h, maximum speed 222km/h, ceiling 8,200m, flight time 25-27 hours, control radius from the ground station 150km. The TB2 standard configuration includes optoelectronic camera module, infrared camera module, instrument, finder and laser control system, with integrated software and advanced control system. It can carry two UMTAS anti-tank missiles (weighing 37kg, diameter 160mm, range 500-8,000m), also developed by Turkey.
Switchblade drone
Sources familiar with the matter said that in the new batch of weapons approved by US President Joe Biden to be supplied to Ukraine, there are Switchblade drones. This is an unmanned aircraft manufactured by the US company AeroVironment and was secretly shipped to Afghanistan in 2010 to serve the war against the Taliban. To date, the UK is the only country authorized by the US government to buy this weapon.
There are currently two models of drones called Switchblade, the Switchblade 300 and the Switchblade 600. The Switchblade 300 is used to accurately strike simple targets on the ground, while the Switchblade 600 is used to destroy armored vehicles or tanks.
Switchblade has a compact size, only about 61 cm in length, 2.7 kg in weight, and priced at about 6,000 USD/piece. The drone is called a Switchblade because of its blade-like wings that pop out when launched.
According to the manufacturer's specifications, Switchblade can fly at a speed of 101 km / h, fly continuously for 40 minutes and operate at a distance of about 80 km. It has a camera mount that provides the operator with a visual display of the target of the combat area and can completely change the target mid-course. Switchblade is difficult to detect by enemy radars and can be used to accurately hit targets up to 11 km away, even destroying armored vehicles and tanks. Switchblade 600 is like a "self-propelled smart bomb" that can fly around the target waiting for an opportunity to attack.
Stinger missile
In the latest batch of weapons that the US has given Ukraine, there are 800 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles along with more than 600 pledged missiles. In addition to the US, Germany also committed to deliver 500 Stinger missiles to Ukraine.
Stinger was developed by the American company General Dynamics. The system entered service with the US military in 1981 and is currently in service with the armed forces of 30 countries. To date, 70,000 rockets have been produced.
The FIM-92 Stinger is a man-portable air defense system commonly used by infantry, but can also be used from helicopters with the Stinger air-to-air missile version. The missile has a range of 1,000 to 8,000 meters, has a two-member crew, and can be rapidly deployed on military platforms in a combat situation.
Stinger has proven his ability to fight in four major conflicts and many regional conflicts in the Falklands, Afghanistan, Angola, Libya, Chechen (Russia), Sri Lanka, Syria...
Javelin rocket
Javelin is an anti-tank missile system that uses thermal imaging to search for targets. In the most recent US aid to Ukraine, there are also 2,000 missiles of this type.
Javelin, whose full name is FGM-148 Javelin, is one of the most modern anti-tank missile systems of the US military with superior firing ability compared to many types of missiles.
The Javelin missile is designed to destroy enemy tanks and armored vehicles, but it is also effective when hitting buildings, fortifications, or even the ability to shoot helicopters. Javelin is more than a meter long, is equipped with a powerful explosive warhead, effective range up to 5 km. Javelin is equipped with an infrared conduction system that can be used in all weather conditions, day or night.
Shoulder anti-tank weapon
The White House said that the US will deliver 6,000 AT4 shoulder-fired anti-tank weapons to Ukraine and this is part of Washington's new aid package to Kiev. In addition to the US, Europe also provided thousands of AT4 anti-tank guns to Ukraine. In which, Germany committed to transfer 1,000 guns, Norway to transfer 2,000 guns and Sweden 5,000 guns.
Anti-tank gun AT4 manufactured in Sweden. They were put into service by the US military in 1980 to replace the M72 LAW anti-tank gun, which proved weak against the Russian RPG-7 anti-tank gun. Currently, AT4 is used by many militaries around the world. In addition to the US and Sweden, the AT4 anti-tank gun is also present in many other countries such as the UK, France, Finland, Indonesia or Greece...
AT4 has compact size, high precision attack, maximum range up to more than 2 km. This weapon can be used to fight tanks, destroy fortifications and bunkers.
New generation light anti-tank missile NLAW
The UK has delivered more than 3,600 new generation light short-range anti-tank missiles, or NLAWs, to Ukraine. NLAW 1,016 mm long; 150 mm in diameter; weight of the whole assembly 12.5 kg; effective range 200-800 m; time from target detection to firing 5 seconds.
NLAW is used to destroy all types of modern armored targets, as well as non-armored wheeled vehicles, motorcycles and enemy fire points. Like the American Javelin, the NLAW has the ability to hit targets in a "rooftop" style. As a combination of a conventional shoulder-fired anti-tank gun and an advanced anti-tank system with a range of several kilometers, the NLAW is informally nicknamed "Close-Range Javelin".
Starstreak air defense missile
Starstreak was developed by the British military in the 1980s with the desire that the new anti-aircraft weapon must have good interference resistance, high interception bullet speed and especially a compact structure that can be used on many other combat vehicles. together.
This is the world's fastest surface-to-air man-portable missile with a speed of up to 5,000 km/h after firing. The missile has a range of 7,000 meters, specializing in attacking aircraft and helicopters at low altitudes.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that "based on the request of Ukraine, the UK has decided to deliver the Starstreak man-portable air defense missiles to the UK military".
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