Video footage has emerged that appears to show a Ukrainian high-precision strike destroying an advanced air defense system belonging to the Russian armed forces.
Ukrainian artillery blew up a Russian BUK series surface-to-air missile system in a massive explosion in the Donbas region.
The imagery of the apparent Ukrainian strikes on Russian Buk system appeared on social media earlier today.
The Ukraine Weapons Tracker open-source investigations group reported that the Ukrainian 15th Artillery Reconnaissance Brigade spotted a 9A316 TEL and 9S36-series illumination and engagement radar of the Buk-M2 SAM system and were destroyed by precision fire. But the Ukrainian military claimed that it blew up a Buk-M3, known as the Viking in its export form, the latest iteration of the self-propelled, medium-range Buk system.
#Ukraine: In Novopetrykivka, #Donetsk Oblast, the Ukrainian 15th Artillery Reconnaissance Brigade spotted an 9A316 TEL and 9S36-series illumination and engagement radar of the Buk-M2 SAM system and they were destroyed by precision fire. pic.twitter.com/19mpJzE52Y
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) July 30, 2023
The BUK missile system, also referred to by NATO as the SA-11 Gadfly, is a Russian-made mobile medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system designed to defend field troops and logistical installations against air threats. It is intended to defeat tactical and strategic aircraft, cruise missiles, helicopters and other aerodynamic targets throughout the entire range of their combat employment in severe ECM environments, as well as Lance-type tactical ballistic missiles, HARM-type antiradar missiles and other airborne and ground-based high precision weapons and to engage waterborne and radio-contrast ground targets.