"Special Missiles": How The AFU Could Destroy "Iskander" In The Bryansk Region Of The Russian Federation
- 5.06.2025, 13:42
Analysts revealed the details.
To strike at the Russian Federation and destroy the Iskander operational-tactical missile system, Ukraine would have to use a special missile that would not be hindered by the enemy's air defenses, analysts said. The previous hunt for similar complexes took place during the war in Iraq, when US Special Forces acted in conjunction with aviation.
The peculiarities of the strike on the Russian Federation, which was carried out by Ukraine on June 5, were written on the portal Defense Express.
The portal recalled that the Ukrainians blew up the Russian Armed Forces' Iskander missile system, which was located 50 km from the Ukrainian border at a firing range near the village of Klintsy. The AFU command did not disclose any details, but the DE authors noted the complexity of the preparation and implementation of the operation. It is also noted that there was the first confirmed case of destruction of an anti-missile defense system, exploded at the launch position and probably ready to launch missiles. The article explained that Ukraine would have to use a special type of missiles for such a complex special operation.
"Our military would have to select a type of missile weaponry that would ensure a faster and more effective defeat of the Rashist MANPADS," the article said.
To realize the strike, the Ukrainian military solved several problems:
learned about the plans of the Russian Armed Forces command, about the schedule of combat missions;
caught the moment when the complex would be at the starting position;
selected a Ukrainian means of destruction that would work effectively against the missile defense system and would not be interfered with by air defense equipment;
conducted "related activities" so that air defense and other means of the Russian Federation would not interfere with the strike.
The article mentioned previous instances of the destruction of manned missile defense systems: it refers to the Iraq War, when the US "hunted" Saddam Hussein's Scud missile defense systems. The plan was that the Special Operations Forces would enter Iraq, find mobile missile launchers, and either destroy them themselves or use air strikes. But the plan did not work too well: the Iraqis hid the installations between folds of the terrain, often moved at night, escaped from the launch site within 10 minutes. Therefore, in most cases, U.S. aviation hit false targets and did not detonate all 20-36 MLRSs that the Iraqi army had. The conclusions that the military made after such a "ground hunt" - it is better to have Patriot SAMs to shoot down enemy-launched missiles, Defense Express explained.
Note that analysts of the ORYX project have not published any confirmed information about the destruction of Iskander SSTs by the Russian Armed Forces during the Russian-Ukrainian war. At the same time, on March 10, 2022, Operational Command North said that it managed to destroy a division of the Iskander-M MLRS (four launchers for eight missiles), which was shelling the northern regions of Ukraine. The command did not specify which means of destruction was used.
One should note that on the afternoon of June 5, the AFU General Staff published footage of a strike on the Russian Federation and said that the Iskander missile defense system in the Bryansk region had been blown up. It was probably from this installation that the Russians were hitting Kiev in May 2025. Video from the scene shows the detonation of one launcher and damage to two others.
We would like to remind you that the Main Directorate of Intelligence reported how many Iskander missiles Russia produces monthly and what stockpile is stored at Russian arsenals.