The british ministry of defense has transferred 1080 anti-tank missile
systems to the armed forces of Ukraine. Five C-17 military transport
aircraft delivered 1080 anti-tank weapon, MBT LAW or NLAW anti-tank
missile systems to ukraine.
In terms of their combat characteristics and loss systems are comparable
to the american javelin anti-tank systems, with a possible exception of
the range which is limited to a distance of 800 meters. It reported that
the decision was made in response to increasingly threatening behavior
from russia.
A batch of international technical assistance from great britain to the
armed forces of ukraine anti-tank weapons has arrived in Kiev.
Ukraine's deputy defense minister for european integration Anatoly
Petrenko, stated that the provided assistance would strengthen ukraine's
defensive capabilities and would be used exclusively for self-defense, the
ministry of defense of ukraine said in statement.
Undoubtedly this will strengthen our troops enhance our defensive
capabilities and i want to emphasize that this assistance will be used
exclusively for self-defense purposes to protect our troops, to protect
critical infrastructure and to protect civilians from any manifestations,
any actions that could lead to escalation, Petrenko said.
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The deputy defense minister thanked the people in the government of the
united kingdom for their support and expressed hope for further
cooperation. As reported on january 17th british defense secretary ben
wallace told the house of commons that the united kingdom would supply
ukraine with light anti-armor defensive weapon systems.
"We have taken the decision to supply ukraine with light anti-armor
defensive weapon systems. They are not strategic weapons and pose no
threat to russia. they are to use in self-defense," Wallace said.
The decision to send weapons, according to the british defense secretary
was made in response to increasingly threatening behavior from Russia and
a small number of British personnel will train ukrainian troops to use the
weapons.
The ukrainian armed forces are now equipped with NLAW anti-tank missiles.
in donbas, russian-backed forces the LPR and DPR reportedly have a large
number of T-62 and T-72 tanks.
So can these anti-tank missiles become a problem for those vehicles? Let's
find out the answer together.
NLAW or Next generation light anti-tank weapon differs from traditional
missiles in much the same way as the first invented wheel from what is
installed on the mercedes s-class, with the help of a special ballistic
computer, the complex predicts the curve of the flight and calculates the
optimal trajectory.
The problem for the T-64 and T-72 tanks which the armed forces of the LPR
and DPR have enough of, is that they lag behind NLAW technologies by about
10 to 15 years.
Most of the vehicles in the armies of the self-proclaimed republics do not
have dynamic protection, which means that it is enough for a cumulative
rocket jet to burn through the steel hull and get to the ammunition load,
which is located under the floor of the fighting compartment in soviet
tanks.
The manufacturer's website says that with a mass of 12.5 kilograms and a
firing range of 800 meters. NLAW is capable of penetrating the armor of
even modern tanks equipped with additional protective equipment, not to
mention the old soviet T-64 and T-72.
Saab also claims that maw can be applied to a target from almost any
position from the roof of a tall building to a deep ditch. the shooter can
use weapons at an angle of 45 degrees and which is especially necessary
for modern wars shoot from inside the premises, from the basement or from
the second floor of the building where he cannot be seen by the armored
vehicle crew.
However the other function makes the NLAW grenade launcher unique among
others. If shooter activates if it is required to carry out an attack from
above in the mode of limited visibility of the target. the firing range in
this mode is not high, the manufacturer claims that it is possible to
destroy a tank from a distance of only 20 meters.
The developer describes the aiming method as follows, the operator can aim
at the visible part and fire. before hitting the target, the missile will
rise one meter above the aiming line before blowing up the tank from
above.
Something similar was implemented in the american javelin anti-tank
systems, but then NLAW is a much simpler weapon and designed for active
combat operations in a limited space which means that it did not make
sense to equip it with a complex and expensive homing missile.
Most of the T-64 and 72 main battle tanks which the rebels received from
russia are not equipped with dynamic protection, considering that the NLAW
caliber is only two millimeters inferior to the russian cornet ATGM and is
150 millimeters. old soviet tanks may not survive a meeting with a modern
anti-tank missile.
NLAW tests on soviet T-72s were carried out by the swedish military 10 to
12 years ago. Then without additional protection, it was possible to
disable those tank with one hit.
At the same time experts believe that the ukrainian military will not be
able to achieve fundamental changes in the situation in the donbas with
the help of these weapons. An estimated 100,000 russian troops backed by
tanks, helicopter and artillery have been deployed for weeks near the
border with ukraine, conducting provocative live fire drills.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly warned ukraine that
russia will respond if Kiev launches a large-scale offensive to retake the
region, that has been controlled by pro-russia separatists since 2014.
