The Top 5 of the most efficient armaments in Ukraine

Since the beginning of the Russian aggression on February 24, Ukraine has become, reluctantly, the largest platform for experimentation with Russian, Ukrainian and Western weapon systems, after 30 years of conflict. latent and asymmetrical that did not allow objective comparative analyses. Among these systems, some have demonstrated their effectiveness, to the point of becoming famous, including among the general public. But what are the 5 weapon systems that have distinguished themselves the most since the beginning of this conflict, to the point of changing certain concepts that have long been elevated to the rank of dogma in Western and global armies?

5 – The TB2 Bayraktar drone: Turkey

The Medium Altitude Long Endurance or MALE drone has become, over the past thirty years, a key component of modern military action. However, their low speed, poor maneuverability and lack of stealth suggested that if they proved effective and even formidable during so-called low-intensity conflicts, against insurgent forces poorly equipped with anti-aircraft systems, they would be far too vulnerable to be employed in high-intensity conflict. And the numerous losses of drones of this type, whether American, Chinese or Turkish, during the Libyan civil war but also in Syria, seemed to attest to the hypothesis. However, the light MALE drone TB2 Bayraktar, spearhead of the Turkish company Baykar, played a decisive role in this conflict on several occasions, whether by harassing the Russian column which was heading towards Kyiv at the start of the conflict in light ammunition and guiding Ukrainian artillery strikes, but also locating and decoying the cruiser Moskva, which allowed Neptune anti-ship missiles to strike and sink the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Basically, the reservations about the vulnerability of MALE drones in a contested environment have also been confirmed during the conflict, and the Ukrainian TB2 fleet has paid a high price for its confrontations with the Russian anti-aircraft defense, once it has been put in place. in place. So much so that now, the Turkish drone is almost no longer used near the line of engagement or in offensive operations, the Ukrainians preferring drones that are lighter, less expensive and more difficult to engage for reconnaissance missions and artillery guidance. However, it is indisputable that the TB2 played a decisive role in the first months of this war, even if it has since marked its limits. It has also convinced on the international scene, no less than 27 countries having acquired or ordered the Turkish system according to Baykar.

4- The Gepard anti-aircraft gun: Germany

At the end of the 60s, the Bundeswehr undertook to equip itself with a self-propelled gun with an anti-aircraft purpose, in order to strengthen the close protection of its armored and mechanized units against Soviet fighter planes and helicopters. This is how the Flakpanzer Gepard was born, which is based on a tank chassis Leopard a turret armed with two 35mm Oerlikon cannons with a high rate of fire directed by an S-band Pulsed Doppler radar, a Ku-band fire control radar, as well as an electro-optical sighting system, giving it capabilities extended engagement and detection, including against slow or small targets, and in an electronic warfare environment. Over the years, however, the massive arrival of precision aerial munitions, allowing combat aircraft to drop them at high altitude outside the artillery fire envelope, but also of stand-off munitions, that is to say launched from a safe distance, led armies to abandon anti-aircraft systems based on surface-to-air artillery, to replace them with missiles capable of reaching targets at higher altitudes, and at more great distance. At the start of the Ukrainian conflict, anti-aircraft systems like the Gepard seemed to belong to the past.

Since then, like the TB2 or Javelin, the Gepard has become one of the symbols of the Ukrainian resistance, even if only around thirty of these systems have been delivered to Kyiv by Rheinmetall, and Berlin is struggling to provide its ally with the shells of 35 mm necessary, faced with the refusal of Switzerland to give up its stocks of ammunition in order not to be involved in this conflict against Russia. Indeed, the Gepard has proven to be one of the most efficient systems for intercepting Russian cruise missiles, but above all for destroying long-range Geranium II drones, which are none other than Shahed 136 suicide drones acquired from Iran. Not only is the Gepard capable of detecting, pursuing and destroying Geraniums passing within 3 km, but it only needs a few dozen 35 mm shells to destroy its target, so a cost compatible with the price of the target estimated at $20.000, where the least light anti-aircraft missile exceeds $300.000. As the threat of long-range stalking ammunition is set to expand (see below), it is likely that the success of Gepards in Ukraine will favor the return to grace of anti-aircraft artillery, at least in waiting for directed energy systems.

3- The CAESAR cannon: France

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