Military technology of Ukraine (photo)

The situation in the eastern regions of Ukraine, having passed, apparently, peak intensity, remains critical. Regular troops, units of the National Guard and the remaining volunteer formations, which the command tries to lead to one-man management, experience difficulties with material support. Military technology of Ukraine, considering the main sources of its receipt, is estimated by experts as outdated, and does not always correspond to the requirements of modern combat. Sometimes it comes to the ATU zone defective, and in some cases it can not reach the place of combat operations. At the same time, the latest, including foreign, models are also supplied to the arsenal.

Reference values

After the collapse of the USSR in the territory of independent Ukraine, there were colossal stocks of army supplies, equipment, ammunition and equipment. In particular, the largest Odessa military district had a defensive-advancing potential, allowing its troops in the event of a global conflict to take control of the nearest countries and reach the Middle East. In the first decades, a certain number of combat units was disposed of, but according to objective data, Ukraine's military equipment in 2014 in numerical terms comprised:

- tanks in good condition - 683 pcs .;

- combat helicopters - 72 pcs .;

- BMP and BMD - 1965 pcs. Plus 262 for the VDV;

- large-caliber (more than 100 mm) artillery systems (including guns, MLRS, heavy and self-propelled mortars) - 379 units. Plus - 90 for airborne troops;

- aircraft in the Air Force - 400, including combat aircraft - 160;

- transport aircraft - 27 pcs. (Air Force).

Of course, this is not all. These figures do not include off-balance units (surplus property), obsolete and worn down to total inadequacy, but considered as possible sources of spare parts. Their number at times exceeds official data.

Losses

The outbreak of hostilities in the Donbas and in the Lugansk region was a huge shock for the Ukrainian armed forces. According to President Poroshenko, the military equipment of Ukraine during the first months of the conflict was destroyed by two-thirds (from 60 to 65%). Of course, each side, during any military conflict, traditionally seeks to overstate enemy losses and downplay their own, but experts who evaluate events realistically rely on documented data. Such evidence is considered the military equipment of Ukraine itself, photo and video with the numbers of units, the place of their death or seizure.

The size of losses and trophies

During the three August weeks of 2014, the facts of the destruction of 385 tanks and armored personnel carriers were recorded, and the militiamen presented to reporters another 183 in damaged, maintainable or serviceable condition. In fairness, cases of the transfer of armored vehicles from hand to hand, sometimes repeated, have also been noted.

The leadership of the Russian Federation has repeatedly been accused of organizing or encouraging the supply of arms to the conflict zone. The fact that Russian military equipment in Ukraine seems to exist (from the point of view of the new Kiev administration) is indicated by the fact that there are a large number of multiple-launch fire systems in the militia of the People's Republic of Germany and the People's Republic of Germany. Losses of APU in artillery made up half of the park, including MLRS ("Hurricanes", "Grads" and "Smerchs"). One third of this figure is the trophies of the enemy.

A similar pattern is also observed in armored cars, trucks and auxiliary equipment.

Aviation

To date, the technical fleet of the Ukrainian Air Force is estimated at about 220 units. Losses (confirmed) during the East Ukrainian conflict amounted to 14 to 18 aircraft, including two MiG-29 interceptors, one Su-24 bomber, seven Su-25 attack planes, three transport vehicles (2 An-26 and 1 Il-76) , Scouts An-30 and Su-24 MR. Air defense militias managed to shoot down five Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters (altogether ten).

Aviation military equipment of Ukraine at present practically does not take part in combat operations because of the strong opposition of the enemy's antiaircraft assets, mainly based on portable anti-aircraft systems. As sources of supplies of MANPADS is also called Russia, although there is no direct evidence for this. At the same time, the Air Force receives samples of modernized airplanes (for example, An-26 equipped with heat traps), however, an evaluation of the effectiveness of these modifications is not yet possible.

Rockets

The "Tochka-U" complex remains the most modern type of APU missile armament. This model, adopted in the composition of the tactical forces of the Soviet Army in the early seventies and modernized at the end of the same decade, is intended primarily for nuclear strikes. The missile has good accuracy, but it is more likely to be applied to hidden militant bases (in the mountains, as in Chechnya, or in the desert, as in Syria), but in conditions of densely populated areas of the Donbass, its use is difficult. The explosion of high-explosive fragmentation warhead with an explosive weight of more than 160 kg causes the flight of 165,000 fragments that kill all living things in an area of 2-3 hectares. Avoiding innocent victims with such a strike is simply impossible, nevertheless, the "Tochka-U" complex is the most accurate missile military equipment of Ukraine.

Internal sources of replenishment of equipment

Ukraine in the Soviet times was one of the main smithies of the defense industry. The potential of the industry during the years of independence has considerably decreased, but it can not be called zero. Kharkov plant them. Malysheva carried out export contracts and worked on the development of tanks of the latest generation, intended for the APU and foreign buyers.

In the area of military operations in the East, new military equipment of Ukraine has already appeared, manufactured at the orders of the defense ministries of Iraq, Thailand, the Congo and other countries. These are modernized tanks T-64B1M, the newest Bulat (1 pc.), Armored personnel carriers BTR-4E, BMP-1 and 2, BREM, medical machines-evacuators BMM-4S, other types and types of defense complex products (only eighty units for three months). The technique is good, but the training of the crews leaves much to be desired, and as a rule there is not a full-scale mastering of the time materiel. It is planned to purchase thousands more pieces of different machines, including BBM Dozor, Spartan and Cougar, but the question of the source of financing remains open . Soviet equipment is also being repaired and modernized (BTR-70 and 80).

Foreign sources

Western countries, mostly members of NATO, express moral support for the country, cautiously sharing the opinion of the current government that Russian aggression may be taking place. The transfer of military equipment to Ukraine, however, is proceeding at a slow pace, and for the time being, mostly non-flying examples of demonstrative-defensive character are included. So, the Navy recently received from the States Coast Guard boats , which can be installed with small arms (it, however, no, but there is very good electronic and navigational equipment). These small boats can be used not only by the military, but also by rescuers.

In the arsenal of the Ukrainian army there are also American army jeeps "Hammer", but there are not many of them. The APU also received special radars for determining the coordinates of mortar batteries using acoustic signals.