"Military Sub-Plane" author: Blood Blade
As of press time, the Russian army's bombing of Ukrainian targets in the theater of operations is still continuing
On February 24, 2022, the Russian representative to the United Nations publicly stated to the major media that Russia had declared war on Ukraine. Meanwhile, President Putin said in an emergency televised address that russian forces would conduct scheduled special military operations in the Donbass region. In the early morning of the same day, there were many explosions near kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and by noon on the 24th, further operations of the Russian army had been carried out one after another, and many Ukrainian soldiers even laid down their weapons in a short period of time to stop resisting.
Although some Western media said that the Russian bombing caused hundreds of civilian casualties, the Russian Satellite News Agency quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that the Iskander tactical ballistic missiles and caliber cruise missiles launched by the Russian Army and Navy were concentrated on Ukrainian military targets, especially the air defense equipment of its air base, military airport runways/control towers and combat aircraft, and did not attack the city. At the same time, the Ukrainian Navy ships stationed in Odessa were also fatally damaged. It is worth noting that the blow took almost 1 hour and 22 minutes! After the devastating blows of the navy and air force, the Ukrainian army will basically lose the ability to resist, and sporadic ground fire exchanges will not help the overall situation.
The Surgical Precision Strike of the Russian Army has once again made the world aware of the characteristics of modern warfare, that is, the pace is extremely fast and the attack of the superior side is also very targeted, that is, the first wave of attacks is mainly concentrated in some key points, such as the Ukrainian National Guard Command building was accurately bombed. In the face of such a blow, even if the other side has limited casualties, it will lose its effective resistance due to the paralysis of the command system. From the Gulf War to the current War in Ukraine, such war patterns have been staged repeatedly, and for China, it is natural to have great reference and warning value.
The first wave of Russian missiles pointed at targets such as Ukrainian airfields and headquarters
What are the characteristics of the two Russian missiles that attacked Ukraine?
As early as the late 1970s, the former Soviet Union began to develop long-range cruise missiles similar to the Tomahawk, and eventually derived the 3M-10 nuclear-standing multi-purpose cruise missile, which derived from the sea-based and space-based versions, but the subsequent US-Soviet disarmament treaties led to the destruction of its sea-based and land-based versions. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian military felt that its long-range strike firepower was seriously weakened, and due to the urgent need for guided weapons with a strike range of 200-500 kilometers, Russia developed a multi-purpose universal caliber cruise missile on the basis of the 3M-10. After years of development, the caliber series has developed into a large family of missiles, mainly including land, airborne, shipborne and submarine-launched versions. Since 2007, the caliber series of cruise missiles has also opened its own export path.
▲ Caliber series cruise missiles not only form a wide variety of systems, but also export to many countries
The caliber series cruise missiles with solid rocket boosters as the main power unit have a warhead weighing 200-400 kg, and their cruise speed is Mach 0.8, and the terminal sprint speed can reach Mach 2.5-2.9, and the guidance method is generally combined with active radar, global navigation system and inertial guidance. With the improvement of the GLONAS series of navigation satellites, the positioning accuracy of the aperture series is also controlled within 5 meters. Take, for example, the 3M-14E, which is primarily responsible for ground strikes, has a built-in barometric altimeter and satellite navigation receiver, which matches the terrain of the attack route to adjust the flight altitude to the greatest extent, and the device also improves the missile's stealth ability when flying. In the Syrian war, the caliber series of Russian surface ships and submarines has accurately and effectively destroyed multiple ground targets many times.
▲ Caliber series missiles can be launched in a land-based state
Even more dazzling in this strike mission is the Iskander tactical missile. This short-range ballistic missile with a single-stage solid rocket engine can not only carry 480-700 kg of conventional warheads (including clustering, armor piercing and fragmentation), but also carry tactical nuclear warheads. The Iskander series of guidance methods include inertial guidance, satellite navigation and scene matching guidance, and the error can be controlled in the range of 2-30 meters. In combat, Iskander would be a company unit, can enter the combat state in the shortest 15 minutes, and in 1 minute let the two missiles on the launcher pounce on different targets, its strike efficiency and reaction speed greatly exceed the U.S. Army tactical missile system. What is more noteworthy is that the primary target of this missile is the enemy command and airfield facilities!
▲ Iskander series short-range ballistic missiles and caliber series cruise missiles fired the first shot
Another feature of the Iskander series is its strong applicability, which can be launched normally in large temperature differences or complex wilderness terrain. With the assistance of its optical sight, it can accurately reach its intended target even under conditions of poor visibility and strong electromagnetic interference from the enemy. Due to iskander's vertebral design, the absorption effect of radar waves is also prominent, and thus has a certain stealth characteristic. It has been calculated that the missile can withstand up to about 30 units of gravitational acceleration, so it can maneuver multiple times on a flight trajectory at an altitude of 50 kilometers. When it reaches the vicinity of the target, its system can further acquire the target information on a multi-faceted platform, and finally finally determine the final parameters within 10 seconds. Due to the limited flight overload of the current interceptor, the Iskander series is almost difficult to intercept.
To kill chickens and scare monkeys, Russia has more powerful weapons
Although the iskander and caliber series missiles have already demonstrated the characteristics of fast, accurate and fierce, they are only part of the Russian military in this operation. According to some foreign media reports, Russian strategic bombers have appeared over Ukraine, including the Tu-160, which is highly feared by the West. Although there is no evidence so far that the aircraft has participated in the strike mission, the aircraft has become another "nerve knife" of the Russian army, thus deterring the NATO armed forces to the greatest extent. Not long ago, the TASS news agency quoted the Russian military industry as saying that the aircraft can be fully equipped with dagger series missiles, which greatly enhances the strike power.
▲ It is reported that the Russian Tu-160 also took off to carry out deterrence missions
In Russia's State of the Union address in recent years, dagger missiles have appeared many times. The missile is similar in size to the Iskander series, and also uses a single-stage rocket as a power system, and due to several improvements in the design, its appearance also has excellent radar stealth capabilities. According to the design, the dagger missile can be carried by a high-speed bomber or fighter outside the enemy air defense circle and launch an attack, and after separating from the carrier aircraft, it will throw off the tail fairing in the fall, and then the rocket will ignite. During flight, its positioning system accurately finds attack coordinates under air-based, space-based and land-based guidance platforms. Because it can fly at a maximum speed of Mach 10 and can maneuver multiple times, it can not only strike ground targets, but also effectively threaten surface ships.
▲ Dagger series missiles are undoubtedly one of nato's least willing to see opponents
The first to carry the Dagger series of missiles are russian Air Force MiG-31 fighter jets and Tu-22M3 bombers, and the MiG-31 unit carrying the missile has reportedly received 350 flight test missions. In terms of flight performance, the maximum speed and combat altitude of the Tu-160 are close to those of the MiG-31, which is enough to make it fire at a specific altitude and speed to meet the attack conditions of the dagger series. Due to the large size of the Tu-160, the missile carrying capacity should not be underestimated. What's more, the Tu-160 itself has an excellent range and can completely cover any target in the direction of the Black Sea. From this point of view, the United States, after learning that the Russian army will not intervene in Ukraine, must have an important credit for the Tu-160.
Why do U.S. defense websites predict ukraine to collapse in a matter of hours?
Although Russia's sudden determination to carry out a military strike on Ukraine is indeed unexpected by many people, the form and effect of its strike have long been predicted by many defense platforms. As early as the end of 2021, the US "Military Observer Magazine" wrote a special article to assess the gap in military strength between Russia and Ukraine and Russia's military strike plan, which said: The first few hours of Russian military operations will determine its future series of larger-scale operations, especially the direction of the ground, and the Russian army will initially start with precision strikes, and then paralyze Ukraine's command centers, air defense positions and air force targets in a few hours.
▲ The Su-27 of the Ukrainian Air Force is not in good condition
The American author emphasizes that although the Ukrainian Air Force acquired 260 MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, only about 70 are currently available, because the Ukrainian economy is not enough to support the original large-scale fleet, and the maintenance of existing fighters is also very worrying, so that there have been many accidents. The main thing is that due to the lack of actual combat or even training experience, the Ukrainian Air Force is unlikely to pose a decent threat to Russian air power. In addition, Ukrainian warplanes generally lack new long-range air-to-air missiles with high guidance efficiency, coupled with the backwardness of the airborne sensor kit, so the two sides of the airborne electronic warfare confrontation will also be suspenseful. In this way, even if the combat units of the Russian Air and Space Force are gradually moving away from the world's top level, they still greatly surpass Ukraine in quality and quantity, and even the Russian army can launch precision-guided weapons outside the Ukrainian defense zone through land-based and sea-based platforms at the first time to eliminate Ukrainian Air Force fighters on the ground. Judging from the current war situation, the American author can be described as a slur.
Ukraine's S-300 has participated in NATO exercises
Due to the serious shortage of air power, Ukraine can only count on ground air defense systems. The problem, however, is that Ukraine has a serious lack of long-range air defense network systems, and since the 1980s, Ukraine has relied on the beech-M1 and S-300P/PS/PT medium-range air defense systems, whose common weakness is that they are significantly less mobile than the new versions of their kind, are easily destroyed by positioning, and are relatively backward in technology. Take the Ukrainian S-300, for example, which has low situational awareness, is difficult to defend at multiple levels, and can only attack up to six targets at the same time. In contrast, the Russian S-300PM2 of the early 1990s was capable of attacking 36 targets at the same time, not to mention the later S-300V4 and S-400, so Ukraine's ground air defense level is also difficult to make a difference.
Even American authors have pointed out that Ukraine has been unable to launch a strategic attack against Russia outside the zone since the abolition of martial arts
The American authors point out that Ukrainian weapons are familiar to Russia, but ukraine has difficulty understanding information about Russia's new types of weapons in recent years. Because of this, Russia can easily take advantage of the lack of electronic warfare capabilities of the Ukrainian air defense system, and then send fixed-wing fighters and even helicopters carrying long-range guided weapons in advance for targeted clearance. Once these air defense systems are destroyed, the Russian precision strikes and air strikes will be unimpeded. Since Ukraine destroyed its Tu-22M and Tu-160 bombers and a variety of ballistic missiles in the early years, Ukraine was unable to launch an out-of-zone strike against Russia in turn. As a result, the already low morale of the Ukrainian side will become more and more degraded, and russia will eventually be completely victorious.
Win or lose in minutes! Russia also benefited greatly from the Gulf War
The 1991 Gulf War was evaluated by later generations as the end of military thinking in the old era and the beginning of modern information-based warfare, and many military fans and netizens said that the PLA was shocked by this as never before, and re-examined the gap between its own military technology and tactics and thinking and the world's advanced level, and finally began many years of restructuring and construction. In fact, Russia was also so shocked by the new American way of warfare that they began to fully and deeply reflect on whether the Range of Weapons and Tactics of the Soviet Army over the years had long since become obsolete. If we look at the US military's air precision strikes in the initial stage of the Gulf War, the thinking of China and Russia at that time was by no means unfounded.
The F-117 attack on key targets in Iraq instantly determined the direction of the war
Iraq before the Gulf War claimed to be the fourth in the world, and Saddam Hussein learned the lessons of the heavy losses caused by the Iranian and Israeli air forces in the past, so he gradually established a large strategic air defense system. The system divided Iraq into four anti-aircraft operations centers, with separate interception and anti-aircraft command points under its command, and thus coordinated all anti-aircraft positions and fighter bases, all commanded by underground megacomputers of the Baghdad Command. At that time, the Iraqi army had 260 anti-aircraft missile companies alone, countless anti-aircraft artillery and man-portable anti-aircraft missile launchers, and the Iraqi Air Force not only experienced the baptism of the Iran-Iraq War and the training of the Soviet Union and France, but also equipped with many fighters such as MiG-29s and Mirage F-1s.
▲ Because the communication and command nodes were precision attacked by the US military, the Iraqi air defense system was almost unable to fight back
According to the wargame deduction, even if the multinational forces led by the United States have advantages, if they target the effective forces of the other side and make a big showdown at the first time, they will inevitably suffer huge losses. To this end, President Bush and the commander-in-chief of the multinational force, U.S. Military Gen. Schwarzkopf, have decided on a new strike plan: the F-117 stealth fighter took the lead in destroying important air defense nodes of the Iraqi army around Baghdad under the cover of interference from EA-6B electronic warfare aircraft. Since the early morning of January 17, more than 20 air defense command posts, communications nodes and power systems in Baghdad have been destroyed within minutes, and late the next night, F-117 accurately destroyed the Iraqi intelligence command. As a result, the Iraqi anti-aircraft fire immediately fell into a chaotic state, and it was almost impossible to hurt the other side halfway.
▲ In the fast and accurate combat, the US military electronic warfare aircraft also played an important role
U.S. generals said that without such a precise and rapid assault, their air power would repeat the scene of heavy losses in the early operations of the U.S. Eighth Air Force against Germany in World War II, and the movement of ground forces would be greatly hindered. According to statistics, the F-117, which specializes in precision and rapid strikes, and the GBU10 and GBU27 laser-guided bombs used have reached a 98% hit rate, and even several large ammunition depots, underground airfields and reactors under repaired by the Iraqi Republican Guard have been destroyed. Since then, a small number of top-notch high-precision guided weapons have also been praised by Russian generals for their combat methods of clearing the opposing nodes in the shortest possible time, and ultimately highly affected the development of Russian guided weapons. Today's Ukrainian war will repeat the scene of that year in disguise, which is the best proof of the Russian army's efforts to build for many years.
What should China learn from the Russo-Ukrainian War?
Today, the PLA's level of weapons and equipment has been greatly improved, and with it comes new tactics around these weapons. Some analysts have pointed out that China has even significantly surpassed Russia in conventional warfare projects such as electronic warfare, precision strikes, and information technology. But on the other hand, China faces its opponents far more powerful than Ukraine in two directions that could face the threat of war. Therefore, China should not position itself as an outsider to the current war in Eastern Europe, but should draw experience and lessons from it and carry out corresponding offensive and defensive exercises to fight each other with left and right hands, so as to increase its chances of winning in a possible war.
The H-6K/N, which carries air-based ballistic missiles or new cruise missiles, can also strike targets quickly and accurately
In the direction of the eastern coast, the main task of the PLA is to complete the cross-sea landing mission at any time to guard against the number one imaginary enemy and its allies at sea. In the amphibious warfare link, the first step of the PLA's offensive is also to behead the strategic objectives of the opposing side's anti-landing headquarters, air bases, etc., in order to destroy the stubborn resistance of the defenders as much as possible. Judging from China's current weapons technology, hypersonic weapons and the Longsword-100 are likely to be the main force of the first wave of attacks. At the same time, the air-based cruise/ballistic missiles carried by the H-6K/N should be skillfully coordinated with them in order to further destroy the opposing side's main military ports or ships that are too late to move, and ultimately clear the way for the landing force. There is no doubt that this requires the cooperation of all branches of the PLA to be watertight.
▲ The imaginary J-20 took off on the border plateau and went deep behind enemy lines
In the direction of the western border plateau, the possible offensive positions of the PLA's main air force and the rocket force's short-range missile units will mainly revolve around Shigatse, Nyingchi, and other areas, and their first stage task is to destroy the opposing station, airfield, logistics point, and headquarters, and eliminate the opponent's early warning aircraft as much as possible. Because the supply of the frontier is relatively difficult, the time requirements for the operation are also more urgent, and the other side will target the main air force according to the terrain suitable for the large ground troops to travel. For the Plaster's Liberation Army, the success of offensive operations depends not only on whether the first wave of long-range rocket launchers and short-range missiles can quickly destroy the opponent's runway and fighters that have not yet had time to take off, but also on whether the J-20, which may be involved in infiltration assault, can effectively avoid the opponent's air defense system and eliminate the most threatening enemy rear targets.
The performance of the DF-17 is enough to allow the PLA to do better than the Russian army under the same conditions
On the other hand, the identity of an opponent who can launch a rapid and precise intensive strike against China is self-evident. Although the development level of the other side's land-based hypersonic guided weapons has lagged behind China and Russia, its air-based hypersonic weapons have made some progress, considering that its next generation of high-range stealth strategic bombers will enter mass production, theoretically it will inevitably become the number one hidden danger for the other side to threaten the mainland with fast and accurate and fierce strikes. In this way, China needs to improve the threat of anti-air stealth targets in the node area, and at the same time be prepared for ballistic missiles to "dig the bird's nest" in the first time, in order to successfully transform the internal defense into the outer line of the shift to attack.