Russian Tornado-S 300mm precision-guided rockets struck a Ukrainian pontoon bridge and river crossing. The strikes targeted a Ukrainian army crossing over the Oskol River in the Kharkiv region. Russian Tornado-S missiles also struck a Ukrainian pontoon bridge over the Seversky Donets River near the village of Raigorodok.
We are seeing greater use of Tornado-S recently but the above is the first time it's been used on a bridge, which used to be tackled by laser guided X-38ML (Orlans guide these missiles instead of using pods). This Tornado-S case coincides with the use of FABs against bridges, which suggests sat-nav accuracy has reached to a point that these weapons can be used in such manner that was previously reserved for laser guided weapons. Tornado-S is also used against opposing UAV control and temporary deployment points, such as this.
A Tornado-S strike has a similar impact to a FAB-250 strike and it's possible such strikes can be confused with the other. Tornado-S strikes can also be confused with Iskander strikes due to the visual similarity of the footage. So it's entirely possible that Tornado-S has been used more frequently than what it has been given credit for online.
Said to be a combined Iskander-M and FAB with UMPK attack on the positions of the AFU in the Dnipropetrovosk region. This however feels to me a double launched Tornado-S strike.
Combined Lancet and FPV drone strike on a Krab, which has become rare lately. With an Orlan sighting, IMO, this might be a Krasnopol instead.
Krasnopol-M2 strikes at Ivanopolye by the 238th Artillery Brigade. One of those instances you can visibly see the Krasnopol she'll strike the target. These weapons also tend to be under credited, an unverified report claims that 10% to 20% of all 152mm shells used now are Krasnopol. Which by the way is logical, you need to hit the target with as few shells as possible so you can hide or scoot away from counter battery and from drones.
Speaking of shoot and scoot, and in coincidence with the rapid surge of armored use lately, this coincides with the incoming fall season. Conventional wisdom speaks that summer is the best use of armored vehicles in Ukraine because of the dry season, where roads are dry and allow vehicles to pass through. This, the summer season should be the offensive season, and the Russians lost their chance as the season ends.
Nothing can be more further than the truth. The next two or even three seasons are when things are really going to get exciting, at least for armor use.
This happens to be because weather is going to be foggy and rainy, making it more difficult to use drones but gives more chances to use armor, using bad weather to it's advantage. Less drone use is going to cut against both sides of course. Such tactics are not new, they go back to World War 2, including the notable Ardennes offensive by the Germans, the so called Battle of the Bulge. Both sides have been tending and saving their main armour during summer with infantry centered offensives and counter attacks, also using ATVs, and now they are going to be let loose. There's even recent footage of vehicular combat these days, which has become very rare; a T-80BVM striking two Ukrainian MRAPs at close range. However due to the visible presence of "living matter" at their last moments, this wasn't postable.
Timing inclement weather for offensives has also been used before in this war and it's not new.
As for shoot and scoot, SPGs now tend to hide and go under camouflage after shooting a few rounds, instead of scooting due to drones. Now after hiding, they wait for bad weather before they can move out to another location. This is also true of towed artillery, and all these add further as to why the fall and winter seasons are going to be a more intense offensive period than summer.
Last edited:
