One of Vladimir Putin’s £75 million radar stations was destroyed in an attack that could disrupt Russia’s air defences, it has been reported.
Ukraine unleashed US-supplied ballistic missiles, ATACMS, on the Nebo-M in an unspecified location.
The Ukrainian military said it believed Russia had 10 such operational systems left, which have previously been hailed as ‘the menace of stealth technologies’.
Russian general Yan Novikov boasted in the summer that the radar can spot most advanced aircraft, including the US F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.
The Ukrainian military did not confirm when the strike had taken place or give the location of the station in its statement on Telegram.
It said: Units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine missile troops successfully struck the Russian Nebo-M radar station with ATACMS ballistic missiles.
What are the capabilities of the Nebo-M radar?
Russian state news agency Tass described the Nebo-M as one of the radars forming the ‘backbone’ of the network along the country’s ground border.
The first serial Nebo-M were delivered to the soldiers in 2017. They were later supplied to regiments in Transbaikalia, Khabarovsk and Primorye regions.
The radars were delivered to Crimean air defence in 2018. Mobile Nebo-M can be rapidly redeployed by land or airlifters.
Nebo-M can detect aircraft and ballistic missiles at a distance of 760 miles, while air and hypersonic targets are detected at 450 miles.
‘Its destruction significantly reduces the Russian army’s ability to detect, track, and intercept aerodynamic and ballistic targets.’
Nebo-M is a complex target to hit, as it operates in stealth mode, scanning the horizon for aerial targets.
The Ukrainian military stressed that the destruction of the radar station will create a favourable ‘air corridor’ so it can use British Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG long-range cruise missiles.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pleading with allies for months to let him fire Western missiles deep into Russia.
After discussions last month, and following his visit to the US, the embargo on long-range missiles has not yet been lifted.
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