"Daggers" and "Iskanders" learned to bypass Patriot: the Russian Federation has modernized their ballistic missiles - ft

To spread: The Russians began to use modernized rockets "dagger" and "Iskander" during the shelling of Ukraine, which can "confuse" and bypass the Patriot anti-aircraft missile complexes. The level of interception of ballistic missiles in Ukrainian air defense fell from 37% in August to 6% in September. Modified Russian missiles bypass the American batteries at the last moment, writes "Finantial Times" on October 2.

According to Ukrainian and Western officials, the results of Russian air attacks in recent months testify to this. Journalists with reference to current and former officials write that the Russian Federation probably modified their mobile system "Iskander-M" (range up to 500 km) and aerobalist missiles X-47M2 "Dagger" (range up to 480 km). Now rockets, at the end of the trajectory, change their course and maneuver or dive at a steep angle, "confusing" Patriot.

One of the Ukrainian exiners has anonymously stated that the modernization of these missiles "changes the rules of the game for Russia", since the supply of air defense products from the United States slows down. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the information stability center gathered, the level of interception of Russian ballistic missiles in Ukraine improved up to 37 % in the summer, but in September sharply fell to 6 % in September, despite the smaller number of launches.

The First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Kislytsa said in a comment to FT that the occupiers of "Russians continue to modernize the technologies of their missiles" Iskander "and other missiles" and stressed that partners need to work on the overlap of the supply of Western components, in particular through China. The authors of the article point out that Patriot is the only interceptor in the Ukrainian arsenal that can knock down the ballistic missiles of the Russian Federation.

Journalists added that previously Patriot SCRs were protected by other systems, such as an IRIS-T medium range battery. However, now some of these agents have been damaged or have been relocated, and Petriots have to protect themselves. According to analysts, Russians could adjust the missile software to improve efficiency.

The rocket technology researcher at Oslo Fabian Hoffman University has explained that weapons are constantly analyzing the interception data to improve the characteristics of ammunition. He noted that Iskander-M acquired ability to maneuver at the final stage of "flight. The rocket performs a quick maneuver before hit and dives sharply, which complicates the tracking and defeat of Patriot systems. "A cool final trajectory is something that can be programmed in the rocket," Hoffman said.

We will remind, the observers of the "militar" on August 25 revealed new facts about the Russian rocket "Dagel", noting that it is not a fundamentally new weapon, but the basis for it was the ballistic missile of the complex "Iskander". Experts also noted that according to manufacturers "dagger" reaches a speed of up to 10 strokes, but at the final stage of flight it slows up to 3 strokes and can be intercepted by Patriot systems.