Watch Ukrainian S-300V1 In Action – Video footage shared on Telegram and Twitter this week shows how Ukrainian troops are effectively using Soviet-era missile defense systems to take down incoming Russian rockets and drones.
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While the United States and Europe have pledged advanced missile systems in recent months to aid Ukraine’s efforts to protect against incoming Russian missile strikes, older Soviet-era equipment remains in use.
The videos show how older equipment can still be used effectively, intercepting targets in mid-air.
In one video shared by the Ukrainian Central Air Command Facebook page, Ukrainian soldiers can be seen taking down two Russian aircraft using the Soviet S-300V1 anti-aircraft missile system in early January.
“Today, January 8, 2023, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the eastern direction, soldiers of the anti-aircraft missile unit of the “Center” air command added two aircraft to the pile of enemy scrap metal,” the Facebook post reads, adding the preliminary data shows that Ukrainian soldiers took down a Ka-52 helicopter and an Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicle.
In the video, later reposted on Twitter, a missile is launched into the air and can be seen traveling for some time in the air, leaving behind a large plume of white smoke.
The video zooms in as the rocket gets further away, although the video either cuts out before the missile strikes its target or the camera simply wasn’t capable of detecting the impact in the distance.
A similar video, shared on Telegram and reposted to Telegram, shows a Ukrainian soldier watching as another S-300V1 missile launch takes place.
The missile is first launched into the air before the rocket’s propulsion system kicks in and it speeds off into the distance and finds its target.
“Rare video of the use of the S-300V1 anti-aircraft missile defense system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the launch of the 9M83 anti-aircraft missile,” the original Telegram post reads in Ukrainian.
What is the S-300V1?
The S-300V1 is a variant of the Soviet S-300 missile system, originally developed in the 1970s and first deployed by the Soviet Union’s military in 1978.
Despite its age, however, the missile system is a capable piece of equipment and is best compared to the United States’ Patriot missile defense system. The S-300 missile system uses a long-range surveillance radar, an engagement radar, and launch vehicles. It is also equipped with a command vehicle that is used to control the entire battery system.
Missiles launched by the S-300 can strike targets from as far away as 50 miles.
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Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
