Saturday, June 3, 2023

Russia deploys new Viking air defense system to Ukraine

Russian Armed Forces have deployed its latest version of the Soviet-era Buk surface-to-air missile system to Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region. 

According to the Militarnyi, the 9K317M Buk-M3 high-end surface-to-air missile system marked with a Latin Z was spotted in Russian-occupied Kadiivka (former name – Stakhanov) on 28 November.

The Buk-M3 medium-range surface-to-air missile system, also known as Viking, is designated to intercept all types of cruise missiles and aerodynamic targets.

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According to some reports, like one from the Russian state agency TASS, the Buk-M3 launcher carries 12 missiles while the self-propelled fire unit is armed with six missiles. As compared to their previous versions, the new anti-aircraft missile systems feature the chassis’ increased capacity to carry a larger number of missiles, an improved control system and the crew’s enhanced anti-blast protection.

The Viking is able to destroy any type of air target from a range of 2.5 to 70 km, with a speed of 3,000 m/s at an altitude from 15 m to 35 km.

The Russian Armed forces received the first set of the newest medium-range air defense missile system Buk-M3 Viking in 2016.

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About

Dylan Malyasov
Dylan Malyasov
Dylan Malyasov is the editor-in-chief of Defence Blog. He is a journalist, an accredited defense adviser and a consultant. He graduated in business management and worked at leading European defense companies before becoming a military journalist. read more

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