Destroying the Russian ship in Crimea, Ukraine revealed the secret of ATACMS missiles - Forbes

During the 27 months of a heavy full -scale war, Ukraine has sank or seriously damaged more than a dozen pre -war Russian ships. The authors of the publication pointed to the fact that the "blacksmith" was dropped by a couple of ATACMS missiles. Two -ton ATACMS base system is not commonly used as an anti -ship weapon. It's a rocket for sushi attacks. This is due to the fact that the accuracy of ATACMS with inertial guidance, according to most sources, is about 9 meters from the target.

This is not enough to reliably impress the ship with one large warhead. Some ATACMS models, including M39 at 160 km and M-39A1 by 300 km, scatter hundreds of grenade-sized subboo-taps, which reimburses a lack of accuracy. Subbostas can damage the top of the ship, but are unlikely to drown the ship: you need to punch the body.

If Ukraine really struck by the "ATACMS" by the "blacksmith", it could mean, first, that there was a version of the M48 rocket by 270 km or M57 ATACMS at 300 with 200 kilogram warheads in addition to M39 and M39A1 atacms. Second, M48 and M57 are more accurate than many observers, and the consequences are significant. What is left of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol is within reach of M39A1, M48 and M57.

"If ATACMS destroys Russian warships in Sevastopol, it is difficult to imagine that this base can be a lot of benefits to the Russians," said Phillips O'BRENN, a professor of strategic research at St. Endrius University. In addition, the Far Darling C-400 Air Defense battery, which protects Sevastopol and the adjacent Belbek airbase, was not able to intercept at the approaching ATACMS. "The Russians have virtually no opportunity to cope with them," said Nuna Felix, Portuguese Military Consultant.

It is equally alarming for the Russians and the fact that the exact ATACMS can be a serious danger to the Crimean bridge. The accuracy that allowed the M48 or M57 to hit the ship should also hit the bridge, explained by Fabian Hoffmann, a nuclear project researcher Oslo in Norway. But the bridge is not the only line of supply of Russians in the Crimea: to the peninsula leads the railway through Russia -held south of Ukraine.

But if Ukraine is able to block the railway and demolish the Kerch bridge, it will be able to cut Russian troops in the Crimea. "Atacms are seriously changing the situation," Felix wrote. According to him, the key region of the war - Crimea - finds himself in a disadvantage, and the fact that the missiles could be sinking the roadway is just a bonus for Ukraine. Recall that Zelensky had a secret plan to stop the offensive of the Russian Federation on Kharkiv.