Part one. Positive changes in terms of weapons. Vehicles of the US Armed Forces.
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So, as we all know, the USA, Canada, Lithuania, Great Britain and a number of other countries send instructors to Ukraine as part of assistance and exchange of experience between our fighters. Most of them come from the United States. Americans teach terrain orientation, cartography, and camouflage. Lithuanians - sniper business. The rest - to the rest. For intelligence officers there is a slightly different enhanced course. I talked with a soldier of the 25th Airborne Brigade, who “studied” with the Americans from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the 3rd Battalion of the 15th Infantry Regiment and the 6th Squadron of the 8th Cavalry Regiment. The fighter has been fighting for three years now. He knows and can do a lot. The only thing he liked was training with American paratroopers and Lithuanians. Most members of the US Armed Forces did not teach the combat veteran anything new. So, these courses are a good thing. For the infantry who recently signed a contract (only contract soldiers go to Yavorov), this is a wonderful experience. But for the soldiers who saw the war, there is minimal result and benefit. Rather, ours taught the allies.
"Sapsan" now
The Director of the Bureau tried to support the development, but it still didn’t work out. First, the project lost its priority of importance, and then it was completely reduced to nothing. At the moment, the only prospect awaiting Ukraine regarding this complex is 2018. This is exactly how much time the bureau needs to fully complete the project and provide the missile system for testing. At first it was assumed that the missile range would be 280 kilometers with an accuracy of a couple of meters, but now Yuzhnoye is proposing to increase the range to 500 kilometers.
Rocket "Korshun-2"
One of the priority tasks of the Dnepropetrovsk Design Bureau is the development of the Korshun-2 missile and rocket weapons system. This is a multifunctional missile system, the main task of which is to provide a shield for the country that can withstand a conventional attack. The project will use cruise missiles capable of hitting ground targets. In theory, it could represent Ukraine's missile weapons in full. The missiles' payload does not exceed half a ton, and the warhead's flight range is 300 kilometers. The estimated mass of the complex's combat equipment will be 480 kilograms. The new cruise missile will reach a flight altitude of 50 kilometers with the ability to skirt the terrain taking into account its topography.
History of the resumption of rocket creation
In 2009, a column appeared in the country’s budget for the allocation of funds for the creation of a combat missile, which will be called “Sapsan”. The project cost just under $7 million. The project represents the creation of a multifunctional operational-tactical complex to increase the country's ability to fend for itself. The bulk of the funds were sent to the Yuzhnoye design bureau, which is located in Dnepropetrovsk. In the same year, the bureau was able to defend the preliminary design and convey to the government about the advantages of its development.
At that time, the Ministry of Defense fully supported the project and considered its creation necessary. Another reason for resuming missile production was the fact that by 2015-2016, that is, by the present moment, the weapons that were in Ukraine will become unusable and will be subject to decommissioning. Therefore, when Viktor Yanukovych took office, he supported the continuation of production of the Sapsan complex in 2011. And in 2012 the project was suspended due to funding. But despite such interruptions in funding, the design bureau continues to create Ukrainian weapons, the types of which are very diverse.
Tochka rocket
Ukraine still claims that it does not use these missiles. In order for the missile system to work, you need to know the enemy’s location in advance. Four warheads with precisely specified coordinates are produced. The strike is delivered depending on the established coordinates and the range at which the shooting is carried out.
The error can range from 10 to 200 meters. In this case, one warhead affects from 2 to approximately 6 hectares. The rocket's flight speed exceeds 1000 meters per second. This weapon can play a decisive role in any battle. But officially, Ukrainians refuse to use this type of weapon. It remains to be seen whether this warhead constitutes a Ukrainian missile weapon.
