war in Ukraine
AS-23 Kodiak – with these cruise missiles Putin attacks the cities of Ukraine
Launch of an A-23
© Ministry of Defense of Russia / PR
Russia launches rocket attacks on Ukraine. Among other things, cruise missiles with stealth properties are used. They are launched from strategic bombers, such as the ancient T-95 “Bear” bomber.
Putin’s new supreme commander, Sergei Surovikin, is launching an attack on Ukraine, targeting cities across the country. Previously, Surovikin was the commander of the Russian Air and Space Forces. Unsurprisingly, he favors air and missile attacks. The number of guided missiles used was already noticeable during the first attack on Monday morning. There are different statements about the number, but it seems to have been over a hundred.
Launched from bombers
Among them is the CH 101 – AS-23 Kodiak, the NATO name commonly used here. The airborne cruise missile has only rarely been used in the Ukraine war. He has been in action since 2013. The special feature is its stealth technology, which means that the radar shadow of the missile is very small and it is correspondingly difficult to detect. Cruise missiles are difficult to intercept anyway as they can fly at low altitudes and can therefore take advantage of terrain elevation. In the “valleys” the shadow of the heights protects them from ground-based radar systems.
The CH 101 is controlled by a GPS satellite system. Like all cruise missiles, it does not have to follow a straight path, but can be programmed to head for various waypoints. This allows it to take advantage of the terrain profile and avoid anti-aircraft positions. On the final approach, the GPS system is supplemented by an optical system to increase targeting accuracy.
Overall, the AS-23 is said to be difficult to spot and track down. But of course a low-flying cruise missile can also be shot down if it gets into the area of close air defense. In addition, the electronics and the GPS reception can be disrupted. Then the weapon does not reach its specified target, but hits somewhere randomly because the cruise missile “mixes up” the coordinates.
Rare and expensive weapon
The range is up to 5500 kilometers. The AS-23 is air-launched by strategic bombers. The Tu-22M3 carries 4 pieces, the Tu-160 up to 12 and the ancient Tu-95MSM up to 16. The warhead weighs 400 kilograms. The A-23 can also be equipped with nuclear weapons. As with all cruise missiles, the damage caused by conventional warheads tends to be local and not extensive. In the attack on a Syrian airport in 2017, the United States deployed 59 cruise missiles.
In addition to its destructive effect, the attack is intended to send several messages. First, that Russia’s stockpiles of medium-range weapons are by no means exhausted. Then the use of the A-23 is another nuclear threat. In addition to the goals in the power supply, he had a clear “terror” intention. The Ukrainian population beyond the areas close to the front should also be terrified.
However, the amount of A-23s available to Russia is limited, and these attacks cannot continue indefinitely. Because of the advanced technology, the cruise missile is also relatively expensive. In total, Russia is said to have deployed over 3,800 missiles and cruise missiles in Ukraine. Before the war about 300 pieces were made a year. The sanctions may have reduced this number even further. But even if the Kremlin may have managed to offset the effects of sanctions and ramp up production, it will never offset the war’s consumption. So the rocket war is also fought from the stock of the magazines. And these stores are far smaller in the case of medium-range precision weapons than in the case of infantry weapons or howitzers.