Great question, August. I don'ty think that's ever been tried. But the AGM-114L variant has a few qualities that make it plausible. Its millimeter-wave radar seeker can prosecute targets after receiving track information from an external radar. Plus, Russian glide bombs are probably easier to track than most drones because they're huge chunks of metal.
There’s also the uncomfortable question of where the interception happens. Destroying a 1,500-kilogram bomb several kilometers from its intended target could save the position. Hitting it directly overhead would be a problem.
Actually the biggest challenge would probably be the sheer volume of glide bombs Russia has available compared to probably a limited supply of Hellfires in Ukrainian stocks.
I do love the way the Ukrainians are taking vintage systems and creating a cyber-punk Frankenstein like system that works. But the improvements that will be coming to the Russian drones will likely render this grouping of radar and vintage missiles ineffective by next year. The Longbow Hellfires would need the equivalent of a JATO pack to catch the jet powered version of the Shaheds.
Do you know if the new Erieye radar be able to provide sufficient early warning of the ‘bomb trucks’ the Russians are using? It may not have the resolution to pick out a low flying cruise missile against the ground clutter, but it should see the fighter climbing up to its launch point.
Part of the problem is how long a standoff range these glide bombs have versus how deep into Russian airspace a Ukrainian pilot would have to fly to knock down the Su-34 and 35. An F-16 cannot mount an AIM-260, as my limited knowledge goes, but the AIM-260 reaches out to 200km at a run up to Mach 5. Russia claims a glide bomb range maxes out at 193km, there would be a fairly good chance of getting a kill if you could get close.
Keep ‘em coming. It will be important to NATO and the free world to know about the innovations coming from this area of expertise.
I still hold out hope that Ukraine will not suffer Spain’s fate of 1936-1939. They need more help than they have been given, and it may mean creating an ‘International Brigades’ movement in the rest of the world to ‘ante up and kick in’.
Can it work against glide bombs?
Great question, August. I don'ty think that's ever been tried. But the AGM-114L variant has a few qualities that make it plausible. Its millimeter-wave radar seeker can prosecute targets after receiving track information from an external radar. Plus, Russian glide bombs are probably easier to track than most drones because they're huge chunks of metal.
There’s also the uncomfortable question of where the interception happens. Destroying a 1,500-kilogram bomb several kilometers from its intended target could save the position. Hitting it directly overhead would be a problem.
Actually the biggest challenge would probably be the sheer volume of glide bombs Russia has available compared to probably a limited supply of Hellfires in Ukrainian stocks.
I like how you think, though lol
I do love the way the Ukrainians are taking vintage systems and creating a cyber-punk Frankenstein like system that works. But the improvements that will be coming to the Russian drones will likely render this grouping of radar and vintage missiles ineffective by next year. The Longbow Hellfires would need the equivalent of a JATO pack to catch the jet powered version of the Shaheds.
Do you know if the new Erieye radar be able to provide sufficient early warning of the ‘bomb trucks’ the Russians are using? It may not have the resolution to pick out a low flying cruise missile against the ground clutter, but it should see the fighter climbing up to its launch point.
Part of the problem is how long a standoff range these glide bombs have versus how deep into Russian airspace a Ukrainian pilot would have to fly to knock down the Su-34 and 35. An F-16 cannot mount an AIM-260, as my limited knowledge goes, but the AIM-260 reaches out to 200km at a run up to Mach 5. Russia claims a glide bomb range maxes out at 193km, there would be a fairly good chance of getting a kill if you could get close.
Keep ‘em coming. It will be important to NATO and the free world to know about the innovations coming from this area of expertise.
I still hold out hope that Ukraine will not suffer Spain’s fate of 1936-1939. They need more help than they have been given, and it may mean creating an ‘International Brigades’ movement in the rest of the world to ‘ante up and kick in’.