US HIMARS missile system was immune to Russia’s multi-billion dollar defensive system. Few days ago even Ukraine destroyed a S-300 system by Using a missile strike.
An advisor to the interior minister of Ukraine, Anton Gerashchenko, said on Twitter that Russia’s most sophisticated S-400 air defense system could not intercept. They were created by the M142 HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, which is American-made.
However, Mr. Gerashchenko did not offer any specifics regarding the S-400 system’s failure before the HIMARS rockets. The might of American weapons is not deterred by the Russian military’s ammo and fuel stores, according to Gerashchenko.
Mr. Gerashchenko brought up a series of recent Ukrainian missile attacks in Donetsk, Lysychansk, and Kherson on various Russian military facilities.
A Ukrainian news outlet said that the Russian S-400 air defense system failed to take down a single HIMARS missile in the Donbas, Zaporizhzhia, or Kherson area just before Gerashchenko made his assertion.
A news outlet claimed that a HIMARS missile even destroyed the S-400 air defense complex during a strike on a Russian military base in Khartsyzk, in the Donetsk region. However, the Russian side has not acknowledged this information.The S-400 air defense system installed in Ukraine is not mentioned in any documents.
In the Chernihiv region, 30 kilometers from the Russia-Ukraine border, the Russian Defense Ministry reported in April that it had utilized the S-400 system to shoot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter.
Given that the S-400 system’s operating range is up to 400 km and its radar monitoring range is up to 600 km, it is possible that the S-400 missile was launched from within Russian territory if the reports that it shot down the Ukrainian helicopter are accurate.
The S-400 air defense system was neither deployed nor destroyed outside Ukrainian territory. Hence Mr. Gerashchenko’s assertion cannot be supported by any documentation evidence.
However, the HIMARS system has brought “trust” to Ukraine. Recently, Ukrainian forces have destroyed more than a dozen sizeable Russian ammunition depots using HIMARS missiles. The effectiveness of HIMARS on the battlefield worried the Kremlin so much that it had to express its “concern” openly.
For example, a commander of Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, Igor Girkin, said on July 10 on the Telegram social network. That “Russian air defense systems, effectively coped with Tochka-U and Uraganov missile attacks; but ineffective against major HIMARS attacks.
According to Illia Ponomarenko, defense and security correspondent at the Kyiv Independent, more than 20 Russian ammunition depots in the Donbas region and southern Ukraine, including some of the largest depots, were attacked by Ukraine and destroyed.
The recent wave of attacks by Ukraine has made the Russian Army feel a crisis in terms of weapons, thus reducing the pressure. Of Russian artillery in the Donbas.
There were also some eyewitness accounts, such as from Roman Saponkov, another Russian military blogger involved in the wars.On July 9, Kherson said that a HIMARS attack on Chernobaevka involved Russian combat forces and left a lasting impression on him.
“I observed HIMARS missiles hit Chernobaevka, Kherson, almost before our eyes,” Saponkov wrote in a Telegram post on July 10. “Five or six rockets clustered into an area. MLRS projectiles typically spread out across large areas and disperse in a fan-like fashion at maximum distances.
It seems doubtful that the HIMARS missile will strike Belgorod soon, albeit the US has forbidden Ukraine from utilizing it for assaults inside Russian territory. Eight HIMARS launchers have already been sent to Ukraine, and four more are anticipated by the end of July.
Currently, M142 HIMARS is operated by the US, Singapore, the UAE, Jordan, and Romania. In addition to several other potential clients from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, Poland is the next nation to purchase this missile system.
The HIMARS Launches 227 mm caliber missiles from the M142 HIMARS. The system’s working range varies depending on the type of ammunition.