The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation struck 2 Patriot launches, 9 Armed Forces fighters were killed - Butusov

It happened at a distance of about half a hundred kilometers from the front line. The cost of the M901-$ 10 million, the cost of the MIM-104 PAC-3 anti-aircraft missile is $ 4 million, the journalist said. According to him, the radar and command post survived. This means that it will soon be possible to restore the combat capability of the entire battery, as Kiev can provide new starting installations.

However, there is another problem - to replace qualified and motivated operators who have successfully undergone long -term training at NATO's advanced training centers, it is impossible, according to Butusov. "The blow was caused by three ballistic missiles of Iskander under the correction of the Supercam reconnaissance drone. The starting installations stood in an open place in the column and did not move," the journalist wrote, adding that there were no means of masking on the machines.

Butusov also voiced four factors, which, in his opinion, contributed to the fact that the enemy found the SCR and allowed to strike an accurate blow. First, the Patriot battery has been in Pokrovskaya area in the last weeks. In her account, several successful launches on aircraft of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The battery radar was regularly switched on, so the occupiers could determine approximately the search location for their further intelligence and UAVs.

Secondly, anti-aircraft missile systems did not cover the battery position from enemy drones. Given that Patriot worked at the distance of the active actions of Russian drones, the risk of its detection, according to Butusov, was high enough. Third, warnings about rocket attack and drones were too late. Fourth, the Patriot was ordered for redeployment, but it did not have time to execute it.

The starting installations did not dismiss, but, on the contrary, they came into a dense column in the open space and waited for the team to start traffic. Thus, they formed a compact target for damage. "The responsibility for the defeat of the Patriot starting installations is fully commanded by the Air Force command, in part-the battery command, which did not have time to remove the personnel and equipment from the impact," Butusov said.

He recalled that the Russians are not firing for the Patriot SAC for the first time. The case near Pokrovsk indicates that the conclusions from the previous times have not been drawn. On March 9, the Forbes reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation had struck the sketches of operative-tactical missile systems "Iskander" on a Ukrainian convoy, which included American Patriots.

Journalists noted that the Armed Forces probably have three Patriot batteries with radars and four to eight starting installations. Two batteries and two spare start -ups were sent by Germany, the United States provided one battery, and the Netherlands - two launchers. So, according to Forbes estimates, Ukraine has lost from 7% to 13%. The figure depends on the number of them in the disposal of the Ukrainian military.

Ukraine has officially confirmed the fact of destruction of the Patriot battery nor, nor denied published information. On March 14, the Commander of the Air Force Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk assured in his Telegram channel that anti-aircraft missile units, including Patriot, continue to perform tasks in certain areas of the frontline areas.