FILE IMAGE: Sergei Bobylev/TASS
The Russian Buk-M3 air defense system showed excellent performance during the special military operation in Ukraine, Alexander Mikhailov, head of Russia’s Military-Political Analysis Bureau, told TASS at the IDEX 2023 international arms show in Abu Dhabi on February 23.
“The special military operation is a testing ground where the teams of military hardware shoot at real rather than training targets,” the expert told the Russian news agency. “It is there that the surface-to-air missile systems can fully demonstrate their combat capabilities. As the enemy employs new tactics and strategies, Russian personnel raise their qualitative level, cope with new objectives and improve their military skills.”
The Buk-M3 is the latest production version of the Buk family of medium-range air defense systems, which is developed by Russia’s defense giant Almaz-Antey.
The air defense system has an effective range of 70 kilometers and a maximum engagement altitude of 35 kilometers. It can track up to 35 aerial targets. The system’s 9А317М TELAR [transporter erector launcher and radar] vehicle can be armed with up to six radar-guided 9M317M missiles.
The M3 as well as the older versions of the Buk system, the M1 and M2, have been deployed in the special military operation zone since the start.
The M1 version has a range of 35 km kilometers and maximum engagement altitude of 22 kilometers, while the M2 version has a range of 45 kilometers and a top engagement altitude of 25 kilometers.
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Russia’s highly-capable air force and air defenses have limited Ukraine’s ability to launch aerial attacks within and outside the special military operation zone. According to the most recent briefing by the Russian Ministry of Defense, Kiev forces have lost 387 fixed-wing aircraft, 210 helicopters and 3,222 drones since the start of the operation.
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