The Russian command took a big risk when such a valuable radar station, capable of theoretically detecting stealth aircraft, was placed near the border with Ukraine.
In the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation, the Nebo-U radar station was attacked, which controlled the sky 700 kilometers deep into Ukraine. According to Polish military observer Maximilian Dura, this indicates that the Russians have been moving their air defense systems noticeably closer to the line of contact of troops for several weeks now, automatically exposing them to Ukrainian attacks. This is stated in the Defense 24 material.
The author of the publication noted that the destruction of the Russian 55ZH6U Nebo-U radar by Ukrainian kamikaze drones may come as a surprise, since this station is used more for early warning systems than for direct air defense on the front line.
Thanks to its decent range and VHF range, it is theoretically capable of detecting stealth targets with a small effective scattering surface (ESR). Thus, Ukrainian forces deprived the enemy of one of their newest radar stations, which was put into service only in May 2016.
“This is a big loss for the Russians, but in fact it is more propaganda than operational. Indeed, the combat significance of the Nebo-U radars should not be exaggerated. This is due to the fact that they work well as early warning stations (for example, for ballistic missile detection), but near the front line and against low-flying targets they have the same range capabilities as other radars,” Dura said.
Important
One of a kind: what makes the Container radar, which was hit by Ukraine, special (photo)
According to him, this radar is not easy to operate, it requires three operators, and its deployment takes at least 22 hours. Therefore, “Sky-U” should not be used where a quick change of position is required. Considering these factors, it turns out that the Russians took a big risk by placing a new, expensive station in the Bryansk region near the border with Ukraine – according to the official Ukrainian statement, the complex worth $100 million was shot down by seven aircraft-type kamikaze drones.
Despite this, the observer concludes, the Russian command has made other risky decisions to deploy medium- and long-range air defense systems, which the Ukrainian military uses.
Let us recall that on the night of April 17, as a result of a strike by the Defense Forces on the airfield in Dzhankoy, several S-400 and S-300 launchers (PU) and the S-400 radar station (radar) could have been destroyed
