Ukrainian Armed Forces

[Khafee]

U.S. to send $250M in military aid to Ukraine
The $250 million of arms and equipment the Pentagon announced it is sending to Ukraine brings the total amount of security assistance sent there to roughly $1.5 billion since 2014.
JUNE 19, 2019
By Ed Adamczyk


View attachment 8288
Members of the Ukrainian Army begin a troop exercise. The U.S. Defense Department announced $250 million in support to Ukraine on Tuesday, which includes lethal weapons and military training. Photo courtesy of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry


June 19 (UPI) -- Ukraine will receive an additional $250 million in military aid, some of it for lethal weapons, from the United States, the Defense Department announced.
Sniper rifles, grenade launchers, counter-artillery radar, electronic warfare detection equipment and other material were on the list of items revealed on Tuesday.

The support also includes considerable training and advisory efforts by U.S. forces, notably for the Ukrainian navy, which has been unable to counter Russian naval forces in the Black Sea.

"The United States remains committed to helping Ukraine implement provisions of Ukraine's 2018 Law on National Security to strengthen democratic civilian control of the military, promote command and control reforms, enhance transparency and accountability in acquisition and budgeting, and advance defense industry reforms," the Pentagon said Tuesday in a statement. "These reforms will bolster Ukraine's ability to defend its territorial integrity in support of a secure, prosperous, democratic, and free Ukraine."

Russia seized the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, and has supported separatist militants in the eastern Ukrainian region known as the Donbas. In a 2018 naval incident in the Kerch Strait, 24 Ukrainian seamen were captured by the Russian navy as three Ukrainian ships were fired upon and seized. Those captured remain in detention pending criminal proceedings.

Since the Kerch Strait incident, NATO countries' navies have expanded their activities in the Black Sea. The additional U.S. aid will bring total U.S. support of the Ukrainian military to $1.5 billion since 2014.

In September, the U.S. Coast Guard handed two Island-class cutters, each armed with .50 caliber machine guns and 25 mm deck guns, to the Ukrainian navy.

The aid can be regarded as a win for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, an untested show business personality turned politician who was elected earlier this year on an anti-corruption platform. Zelensky traveled to NATO headquarters in Brussels for his first official trip as leader, and earlier this week in Paris called for continued pressure on Moscow.

U.S. to send additional $250M in military aid to Ukraine - UPI.com

Ukraine is to receive $250 million in military aid, some of it for lethal weapons, the U.S. Defense Department announced, bringing total U.S. security assistance to the country to $1.5 billion since 2014.

www.upi.com

 

[Khafee]

NATO strengthens cooperation with Ukraine's military intelligence
June 22, 2019


The intelligence structures of NATO member countries are intensifying cooperation with the Military Intelligence of Ukraine, reports the press service of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

The decision to increase cooperation was made on during the official visit of the Chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine Vasyl Burba to the Baltic countries.

During the conversations, Colonel-General Burba released additional evidence of Russia's military activity in the territories of the Donbas which are not under Ukraine’s control and near the borders of Europe.

"In order to timely identify signs of Russia's preparation for the expansion of armed aggression against our country and possible military actions of the Russian Federation in the regions of the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea, the leaders of military intelligence of the North Atlantic Alliance and Ukraine agreed to increase the volume of intelligence exchange. Now we are making the preparations for joint intelligence assessments between the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and NATO of the actions of the aggressor country. A Memorandum of understanding in the field of intelligence activities has been signed," the report reads.

As a result of Burba's meetings with the heads of military intelligence of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, the exchange of experience in countering Russian aggression in crucial areas of intelligence activities, in particular - in the field of cyber intelligence was established.

Earlier, the military intelligence of Ukraine provided to the US the evidence of Russia's intentions to continue to destabilize the situation in Europe. However, US intelligence believes it is unlikely that a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine will start in 2019.

NATO strengthens cooperation with Ukraine's military intelligence

The intelligence structures of NATO member countries are intensifying cooperation with the Military Intelligence of Ukraine, reports the press service of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. The decision to increase cooperation was made on during the official visit of the Chief of the Main...

uawire.org

 

[Khafee]

For the first time Ukraine asks to buy weapons from US
Monday, July 8, 2019

View attachment 9225
For the first time, Ukraine has asked to purchase weapons from the US, the US Embassy to Ukraine reported.

“I am pleased to announce that, for the first time, Ukraine has asked to purchase military equipment through the US Defense Department’s sale program. We are starting the process of considering this request. The US adamantly takes the stance of supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and the reformation of its defense sector,” said US Chargé d’Affaires for Ukraine William Taylor.

Ukraine has allocated 11.5 billion hryvnia (around $446 million) for purchasing and upgrading military equipment in 2019. With this money, the country plans to acquire more than 600 vehicles, 600 items of communication equipment, more than 270 missile and artillery weapons, more than 200 armored vehicles, 3,000 firearms, as well as other equipment and weapons.

In autumn 2017, BuzzFeed reported with reference to a source in the US government that Trump does not want to give Ukraine weapons for free.

Shortly thereafter, US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker said that the military assistance program for Ukraine envisages both the donation and the sale of weapons.

In June 2019, the US Senate voted to significantly expand the policy of security assistance for Ukraine in the 2020 defense budget and to increase its budget to $300 million.

For the first time Ukraine asks to buy weapons from US

For the first time, Ukraine has asked to purchase weapons from the US, the US Embassy to Ukraine reported. “I am pleased to announce that, for the first time, Ukraine has asked to purchase military equipment through the US Defense Department’s sale program. We are starting the process of...

uawire.org

 

[Yıldırım]

Antonov's HALE UAV project

 

[Khafee]

Neptune Land based Cruise Missile's successful test by Ukraine
29 April 2020

In the south of the Odessa region at the “Alibey” proving ground regular tests of the “Neptune” land-based cruise missile system were held. Radio jamming is being applied to test the warhead's resistance to e-warfare, while Su-27 (Flanker) fighter jets are also involved in drills.

The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine has set the task of developing, large-scale production of the latest missilery models, in particular, providing the Armed Forces of Ukraine with cruise missile systems to enhance their naval combat potential in the Black and Azov seas.

During the firing of the “Neptune” land-based cruise missile system, the tactical and technical characteristics, particularly the hitting range and accuracy for naval targets were checked. The sea targets were hit at the specified range.

As reported previously, the national defense industry is able to develop complex models of weapons and military equipment in the shortest possible time to provide the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The production of these missiles will be carried out in Ukraine in a closed cycle. The “Neptune” cruise missile system is developed by designers of the State Enterprise “State Kyiv Design Bureau “Luch” in cooperation with other state and private enterprises of the defense-industrial complex of Ukraine.

The development of the missile program is also one of the priorities of the development of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and is conducted with the active participation of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Neptune missile system is a land-based cruise missile system with an anti-ship missile, designed to defeat battleships such as cruisers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, landing ships, tank landing ships and transports, which operate independently and in naval groups and landing units, as well as coastal radio-contrast targets, amid favorable and adverse weather conditions, at any time of day and year, under active fire and radio-electronic counteraction of the enemy.

 

[Khafee]

Air Forces Monthly, Issue 402, Sept 2021, Page 23

 

[Zaslon]

Ukraine's LUCH Design Bureau is developing a new air defence system designated "SD-300". the SD-300 is supposedly to have a range of 100km and will work with the 80K6TM.

 

[Zaslon]

a Ukrainian soldier being trained how to use the recently received M141 SMAW-D

 

[Soldier35]

Italy and France are ready to transfer SAMP-T medium-range air defense systems to Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni announced this. The SAMP-T air defense system was developed jointly by Italy, France and Great Britain, the complex was put into service in 2006 and is designed to destroy air and ballistic targets. The standard SAMP-T SAM battery includes a command post, Arabel phased array radar, and four to six launchers with eight Aster 30 missiles each. The air defense system is compatible with NATO control systems and can operate as part of a layered air defense system, receiving data from third-party radars or command posts. The SAMP-T air defense system did not participate in battles, but during the exercises it showed good performance, hitting about 85% of targets. The complex was offered to be bought by Turkey, but she chose the S-400 air defense system. The SAMP-T has a high rate of fire, 8 missiles can be launched from a single launcher in just 10 seconds. The range of destruction of air targets of air defense systems is from three to one hundred kilometers. The height of the defeat reaches 25 thousand meters. The SAMP-T complex can detect tactical ballistic missiles at a distance of 600 kilometers and hit at a distance of 35 km. The complex is highly automated and is controlled by 2 operators. The approximate price of the SAMP / T air defense system is about $ 300 million. The complex is in service with several countries, in France it is called the Mamba air defense system.

 

[Soldier35]

Footage of the use of Bulgarian-made M60CMA Commando mortars by the Ukrainian army has been published. The M60CMA 60mm mortar is designed for paratroopers and special forces and is suitable for use in difficult terrain. The mortar can be carried by one soldier, since its weight is 5.7 kg, the rate of fire of the mortar reaches 30 rounds per minute. The mortar is designed to achieve the best fragmentation and high-explosive action. Depending on the ammunition, the firing range of the mortar reaches 2250 meters, the minimum firing range is 50 meters.

 

[Soldier35]

Ukraine received French fifth-generation Akeron MP anti-tank systems. ATGM. Akeron MP is a portable anti-tank system mounted on armored vehicles with a target range of up to 5 km. Such complexes entered service with the French army in 2017. The complex was designed to replace the MILAN and Javelin anti-tank systems in the troops. The ATGM has three methods of targeting, fire and forget, the second method is to capture the target outside the operator's direct line of sight after the missile is launched, and the third is manual guidance via a two-way fiber optic cable with the possibility of retargeting. The missile has an uncooled infrared homing head, thanks to which the operator does not lose a few seconds before firing, and the missile can be guided repeatedly. According to the test results, the complex was recognized as successful and is considered a rather formidable weapon for tanks and infantry. The ATGM warhead is multi-purpose tandem, depending on the selected mode, penetration of up to 1000-mm homogeneous armor behind dynamic protection, a concrete wall up to two meters thick, or infantry damage by tungsten fragments within a radius of up to 15 meters is declared.

 

[Soldier35]

The Ukrainian army began to use, created in a single copy of the BTR-60XM Khorunzhiy, the car was seen on one of the roads. The BTR-60XM was created by NPO Praktika on the basis of the Soviet BTR-60. After the modernization, the engine of the armored vehicle was moved to the front, the vehicle received a new, more spacious hull and in some places Finnish armor of the STANAG 4569 Level 1 class, and mine floor protection was strengthened. Armored vehicle "Khorunzhiy" can serve as a platform for equipment for various purposes, it is equipped with modern surveillance devices, a fire extinguishing and ventilation system. Armored personnel carrier weighing 13 tons, equipped with a 300 hp engine. and develops a speed of up to 100 km / h, the crew of the car is 3 people.

 

[Soldier35]

Ukraine will receive JDAM-ER systems to create GPS-guided precision bombs. The Jdam-ER complex was created by Boeing and can be attached to unguided JDAM bombs weighing from 226 to 907 kilograms. After being dropped, the JDAM-ER bomb spreads its wings and, guided by GPS, can glide up to 72 kilometers, tripling the range of the conventional bomb it is mounted on. The Jdam-ER complex is considered a very successful development and is in service with 26 countries. As for the practice of using JDAM-ER bombs in Ukraine, there may be problems with this, the fact is that in order for a bomb to fly 72 kilometers, it must be dropped from a height of 14,000 meters. An aircraft flying up to the front line at such a height will be guaranteed to be shot down by air defense systems, how bombs will be used under these conditions is not yet clear.

 

[Soldier35]

Ukraine received English FV432 Bulldog armored personnel carriers. The FV432 armored car was produced from 1962 to 1971, about 3000 armored personnel carriers were produced in total, the car is an improved version of the British FV420 armored car. The car was in service until 1980, and then they began to be replaced with new versions of the BMP. The main purpose of the FV420 armored vehicle is the delivery of soldiers to the place of hostilities, therefore the armament of the armored vehicle is only a machine gun with a caliber of 7.62 mm. The machines were upgraded in 2006 to the Mk3 version, which versions Ukraine will receive is unknown. The upgraded version of the vehicle is equipped with armor up to 15 mm thick in the frontal part and protects the crew from a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun from all sides. The machine is equipped with anti-mine and dynamic protection, but provides protection only from older versions of ATGMs and RPGs. The upgraded version of the machine can be equipped with several types of anti-tank systems. Armored vehicle weighing 15 tons, with a 240 hp engine, speeds up to 52 km / h, with a cruising range of up to 580 km. The crew of the car is 2 people and 10 landing people.

 

[Soldier35]

Ukraine will receive the SurveilSPIRE intelligence system, the system is supplied by Rheinmetall in cooperation with the Estonian company DefSecIntel on behalf of the German government. The SurveilSPIRE reconnaissance system is used to monitor large areas, it includes special towers equipped with day and night cameras. The system also has reconnaissance drones for patrolling the territory. The installation itself is built on a platform for a car trailer and is powered autonomously from solar panels, it is worth noting that solar panels are an element that unmasks the system. The SurveilSPIRE security system transmits information to the operator via the Starlink cellular and satellite communication channel. The system includes ultra-fast mini-drones that can carry out unmanned reconnaissance in various conditions. 3 people can install and maintain the system. The cost of the complex is not reported, but it is more than 10 million euros.