First, the Su-57 would have to locate the systems, and secondly the Su-57 is at risk of being shot down by other AA systems. With the inability to conduct precision airstrikes, the Russians would not be able to prevent the delivery of Western arms to the eastern Ukraine. This in turn could fundamentally change the character of the war.
The War in the Ukraine
- Thread starter SampanViking
- Start date
RWR locates radars. It's a passive system. It does not give off signal to alert radars. Su-57 flies too high for MANPADS to engage.
Patriot 3 / THAAD can be dealt with by Iskander. Once located by satellite, it can be hit by Iskander from up to 500 km away.
So, how many "changes to the war" have you been parroting so far? Fifth or sixth? It's time for self-reflection, dude. Your contribution to this thread is even less useful than Ukrainian twitter bots.
Dear Putin,
Please be gentle on Patriot or THAAD if they show up, do your CAESAR magic on them if possible. PLA would pay a lot of money for examples of those.
By the time Ukrainians already finished the training of said SAM systems, the Russians would already have reach the very gates of Kiev or even Lvov
There is a solution to this: blowing up all the Dnieper road and railway bridges. Why the Russians haven’t done this? I have no clue. The only possible reason is that they want to keep the bridges open for future offensives towards Western Ukraine but I don’t see this being likely without increasing Russian troop strength. If the bridges are gone, transporting heavy equipment would become very difficult and boats/barges would be the only remaining method.
As an aside, I don’t think SAMs are going to fundamentally change the war. If Ukraine deploys the Patriot in the East it will be much easier prey for the Russians. I doubt there’s any strategic value in placing it where it can be easily found and destroyed. Instead, it makes sense to bolster air defense around key Ukrainian cities far from the front line like Kiev, Lviv and Odesa. This will probably lessen the blow from Russian missile strikes.
I was under the impression blowing up the dams / bridges would lead to millions of civilians getting drowned. Is there any truth to this?
Seems like you’re right. The Soviets had to do it during WW2 and it caused major flooding:
Not all of the roads are on dams though, destroying the bridges would still constrict Ukrainian supplies.
I wonder if it would be cheaper to buy directly from the Ukrainian units that operate them
I do believe Patriot 3 would be easy target for Hunter drones. These are big but very small RCS and no risk to pilots. They can also hit Patriot 3 from safe distance using long range anti radar missiles.
An easier solution is keep hitting Ukraine's one and only oil refinery at Kremenchuk and make sure it's not working. And keep hitting Ukraine's fuel depots. No fuel means Patriot PAC 3 and whatever else diesel fuel war machine cannot move. It leads to Ukraine's agricultural failure because no more fuel to run tractors and causes famine but depopulation is more subtle as people flee Ukraine due to hunger.
If the US sends 100 AH-64D and 100 Patriot PAC 3 to Ukraine it could potentially make an impact. Helicopters can land anywhere and fly low enough to avoid detection by ground based radars. Patriot PAC 3 can target high flying jets which can pose a threat to helicopters. But I guess Americans are just a bunch of penny pinchers. Won't even spend 100 billion dollars to people who fight and die for them.