Instead of spending a lot of money on missiles, the warring sides in Ukraine use old anti-aircraft artillery to take out targets like UAVs.
Long-range guided cruise missiles, ballistic missiles from Russia, and modern air defense systems from the West are starting to compete in the sky over Ukraine. However, the old anti-aircraft guns are still effective.
To combat fighters, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and cruise missiles, the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces recognize the necessity for various air defense weapons, including low-tech anti-aircraft artillery.
Germany’s 88 mm Flak anti-aircraft cannon may have shot down half of the Allied bombers during WWII. In the 1950s, artillery and anti-aircraft weaponry were mainly rendered obsolete by the introduction of missiles that could travel at Mach 4, four times the speed of sound, and reach altitudes of 30,000 meters.
But in modern warfare, especially on the battlefield in Ukraine, UAVs are becoming a severe threat to both sides. Russian forces recently attacked Ukrainian cities and power plants with suicide drones and cruise missiles.
At the same time, Ukraine uses UAVs to keep track of Russian tanks and artillery and set up ambushes for the enemy.
Using big, expensive, and long-range anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down small UAVs is a costly way to do it. At the same time, military forces are using more and more slow, high-precision cruise missiles and low-flying planes, which means that anti-aircraft artillery is again needed.
Nick Reynolds, a specialist in ground warfare at the Royal Research Institute for Defense and Security (RUSI), stated that “anti-aircraft artillery has been underestimated, even though this weapon should never be disregarded in battles.”
Reynolds is a co-author of a study published by the RUSI institute on the measures Ukraine must take to combat Russian suicide drones.
The study urges Western nations to send Ukraine more self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery, such as the German Gepard complex, and short-range man-portable air defense missile systems, such as the American FIM-92 Stinger.
The report says, “Artillery systems should be chosen over missiles because they have a much lower cost per shot and their ammunition is easier to get than conventional and man-portable anti-aircraft missiles.”
According to Reynolds, the German Gepard cannon, which was deployed for the first time in the 1970s, is “more effective” at destroying unmanned aerial vehicles than the anti-aircraft guns used by Russia and Ukraine.
The 57 mm AZP S-60 complexes developed between the 1940s and 1950s and the 23 mm ZSU-23-4 Shilka find it more challenging to engage small UAVs such as the Shahed-136.
According to RUSI, anti-aircraft artillery can be paired with more advanced weaponry to build a multi-layered fire network, which enhances the capability to bring down enemy aviation targets.
According to the expert, a powerful anti-aircraft gun that can target any low-flying aircraft to avoid the threat at higher altitudes is the best way to complement long- and medium-range anti-aircraft missiles.
