Author: Rainbow Kursk
Recently, as the Russo-Ukrainian War entered its fourth week, the confrontation between the air and the ground has further intensified. The S-300 system, which used to be a long-range strategic air defense missile, also began to suffer losses.
Ukraine is mainly equipped with the S-300PS/PT series, which is an early model of the S-300 air defense missile system, which was equipped around the 1980s, with relatively poor performance and weak electronic countermeasures, so it suffered heavy losses under the air defense suppression (anti-radiation) strike of the Russian Air Force, and even many S-300 launchers were abandoned.
Recently, a NATO country expressed a willingness to replenish the S-300 system lost by Ukraine and provide a more advanced S-300PMU missile system.
On March 17, Slovak authorities confirmed that they might be willing to transfer at least part of the Soviet-era S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile system to Ukraine if they were given some form of replacement or other security guarantees.
Speaking at a press conference with visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Slovak Defense Minister Ned explained: "If there is a suitable alternative, or if we have a guarantee of the ability for a certain period of time, then we are willing to discuss the future of the S-300 system."
"The only strategic air defense system we have in Slovakia is the S-300 system." He continued. "So, when we decide to hand it over to Ukraine, we're actually going to create a security gap within NATO." If the United States and others are willing to help Slovakia fill this gap, then Slovakia is willing to give some S-300s to Ukraine.
Image: S-300PMU in Slovakia.
Slovakia is currently equipped with the second-generation S-300PMU long-range anti-aircraft missile system, which they inherited after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992-1993.
The S-300PMU is an upgraded version of the S-300PS/PT and can also use 5V55R interceptor missiles in Ukrainian stockpiles.
These missiles are currently the main weapon of air defense in Slovakia' homeland, and if they are supplied to Ukraine, then in the direction of Slovakia, NATO's air defense system is missing a corner.
Analysts believe that Slovakia's move is to clear the Stockpile of Soviet-style equipment and ask the United States to provide it with Patriot anti-aircraft missiles to better integrate into the Western system. At the same time, the German government also announced on March 17 that it was willing to deploy some Patriot anti-aircraft missiles to Slovakia to make up for the strategic air defense gap caused by the transfer of the S-300PMU system to Ukraine.
Image: "Patriot" anti-aircraft missile system.
In addition, it has been reported that in recent days, a number of videos and photos have appeared on the Internet showing the Ukrainian S-300PS air defense missile system abandoned by soldiers or destroyed by the Russian army.
This puts more pressure on the Ukrainian army's air defenses. If Slovakia can provide S-300PMU long-range anti-aircraft missiles, it will at least be able to replenish the losses of the Ukrainian army to some extent, deploy it in the west, and further deter the Russian army.
In addition, Slovakian Defense Minister Austin also separately raised the possibility of being willing to help Ukraine enhance the so-called "anti-artillery capability", that is, to provide artillery reconnaissance radar and detect the trajectory of Russian artillery fire in a timely manner. Currently, Ukraine has 4 sets of anti-artillery radars and 4 sets of anti-mortar radars provided by the United States.
Image: Radar vehicle of a destroyed Ukrainian S-300PS anti-aircraft missile.
However, even if the S-300PMU is provided, it is difficult to make a difference in the big picture.
Because the S-300PMU missile is still a Russian-made missile, Russia knows the performance of its own anti-aircraft missiles very well, so the recent achievements are mainly the US-made "Stinger" anti-aircraft missiles equipped by Ukraine.
If the S-300PMU arrives in Ukraine, Russia may use anti-radiation missiles such as the X-31 to attack and conduct targeted electronic countermeasures, at which time the positions where the S-300PMU anti-aircraft missiles are deployed may be hit in a key focus.
Photo: Russian X-31 supersonic anti-radiation missile, a radar system specifically designed to strike long-range anti-aircraft missiles.