The conflicts of recent years in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh “tarnished the reputation” of the S-300 Favorit anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) and the Pantsir anti-aircraft missile and cannon complex (ZRPK), writes the Military Industrial Courier.
The newspaper says that one of the leading roles in the conflicts taking place in these regions is played by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are capable of operating, in particular, in conditions where the presence of a person is undesirable, for example, with increased radiation.
The publication writes that in the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, one of the decisive roles is played by the military support of Azerbaijan by Turkey. “Armenia could respond with attacks from drone UAVs in order to destroy enemy aircraft at airfields. But Yerevan does not have such drones, because the Russian Federation does not have them, ”the newspaper said.
It is noted that in future conflicts, the tactics of using a swarm of drones will acquire particular relevance, the use of which is actively promoted in China and the United States. The publication expresses doubts that Russian electronic warfare systems will be able to destroy such drones without being themselves detected by a potential enemy.
In October, military expert Aleksey Khlopotov, commenting on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, said that “drones completely dominate the sky, and we see that they draw the line under the use of armored vehicles.”
In September, The Drive wrote that the Azerbaijani military destroyed at least six 9K33 Osa air defense systems and three Soviet-designed Arrow-10 9K35 Arrow-10 systems in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the publication, Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones were used for this.
In June, Defense Express, citing its own sources, reported that in recent years, during the military conflicts in Syria and Libya, at least 23 Russian-made Pantsir-C1 complexes were destroyed, for which, in particular, Bayraktar TB2 were used.
