An Iskander-K cruise missile. Illustrative image.
On July 17, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it had destroyed one of the M142 HIMARS multiple rocket-launching systems recently supplied to Ukraine by the US. This is the third system destroyed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
During his daily briefing, the MoD’s spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said that a HIMARS launcher and a reload vehicle were destroyed near the settlement of Krasnoarmeisk in the Donetsk People’s Republic as a result of a missile strike.
The MoD released footage showing the destruction of the alleged launcher and reload vehicle. The footage was taken by a drone, most likely an Orlan-10, that was apparently used to coordinate the strike.
The missile used in the pinpoint strike was apparently the 9M728 cruise missile, the main armament of the 9K720 Iskanderw-K system. The missile has a known maximum range of 500 kilometers. It is guided by the GLONASS satellite navigation system and INS [inertial navigation system].
The 9M728 is equipped with a TERCOM [terrain contour matching] system, which allows it to fly at an extremely low level to avoid detection by enemy radars.
So far, the US has claimed the supply at least 12 HIMARSs to Ukraine. Most of these systems have been already delivered.
The HIMARS supplied to Ukraine are armed with M30/M31 series GMLRS precision-guided rockets, which have a range of more than 70 kilometers. GMLRS rockets are guided by a GPS-aided inertial navigation system and have a circular error probable of one meter. Each launcher can be loaded with a pod of six rockets.
Click to see full-size image.
Kiev forces have been using HIMARS systems to target residential areas in the Donbass region. Now, Kiev is reportedly planning to use the systems in even a more provocative way.
Earlier on July 17, representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry Vadim Skribitsky said during a TV interview that Kyiv might use the systems for hitting Russian military objects in Crimea. According to him, the next target could be the Black Sea Fleet.
