Ten seconds to shoot down: how air defense works

Ukrinform journalists met with the fighters of the anti-aircraft missile and artillery platoon of the 102nd Brigade of the Tank Division just after the massive missile attack that the Russian invaders launched against Ukraine on December 29. The sky guards told how they destroyed the missiles flying towards Dnipro and Ivano-Frankivsk.

IT IS POSSIBLE TO SHOOT DOWN, IF WE HAD WEAPONS AND PEOPLE

- If we had shot down everything that was flying at our cities yesterday, I would have been 100% proud. However, to shoot down everything, we need people and weapons. It's real," says a 28-year-old fighter with the pseudonym "Adik."

He is a junior sergeant, and the war caught him in Ivano-Frankivsk, where he and his family moved in 2014, after the occupation of part of Donetsk region. The man says he has always dreamed of a military career.

- He just wanted to be a military man. But it so happened that my parents were very much against the military path, plus I was limitedly fit in wartime. But everything fell into place. I still plan to stay in the army and sign a contract," said the defender of the sky.

A "TROPHY" WORTH $13 MILLION

Before the outbreak of full-scale war, he worked as a sales manager at an enterprise. And on February 25, 2022, he volunteered to serve.

His first specialty was senior combat medic. Then the unit was reformatted and an anti-aircraft unit was created. "Adik," along with the guys he joined the army with on February 25, went to the anti-aircraft unit, where they have been serving for a year and a half.

He says that it is quite possible to master a military profession such as man-portable air defense system operator in a week, provided that the soldiers have the opportunity to train on simulators, and most importantly, the desire.

- To hit a missile is a great deal of luck. Because weather conditions, the type of target - there are many nuances," he admits.

"Recently, a soldier shot down an enemy missile worth about $13 million. At the same time, the cost of the weapon used to destroy it was about USD 3,000.

We ask him to tell us how everything happened.

- We were informed that there was a missile threat. In this particular case, the missiles were not visible on any radar. They were flying at a low altitude. When the missile threat was announced, we were at our combat positions, and we asked whether our units could see the missiles or not. We were told that there was only visual and acoustic surveillance, and no missiles were visible on radar," he said.

The anti-aircraft gunner recalls that he made a "prick" in advance, which means that the weapon was put on alert, turned on and started searching for the target.

- He saw the target visually, aimed, locked, and fired... It took 8-9 seconds from the moment he saw the target to the moment he hit it. When I aimed, I wasn't completely sure that it would work. I was watching whether my missile would hit the target or not. When I saw the explosion on the ground, I realized that I had shot it down. I was shouting a lot of obscenities, but at first I was shouting: "Come on, come on!", like catch up. And when I saw that I had shot it down, I was screaming with joy," the fighter says.

THE DESTROYED MISSILE WAS HEADING FOR THE DNIPRO

The target was destroyed by a Soviet-style weapon. It is not yet 100% confirmed, but according to preliminary information, the guys shot down an X-101 missile. After we talked to them, the soldiers planned to go to the site of the downing to find the wreckage of the deadly weapon.

The missile was tentatively headed for the Dnipro River.

- There were two more missiles that were heading in other directions. Unfortunately, they were not shot down. They also went to the Dnipro," says Adik.

- "Did it give you confidence in your own abilities?" I ask.

- "A lot. And not only to me. We have a general chat of air defense officers, the whole brigade. All the information went there, the guys started asking what caused the downing... But most importantly, they realized that we can shoot down their old and new missiles. And with both old and new weapons. The main thing is the desire. The problem is the number of weapons and the number of people. The more people we have, the more junk we will plant in the field. Air defense units do not participate in battles and assaults. Therefore, those who are afraid to be in battles and assaults could choose this path. Moreover, now there is a website where there are vacancies by brigade, and you can choose where you want to serve," he answers.

The fighter calls the American Stinger anti-aircraft missile system a very cool weapon, but he personally would prefer to work with a Polish one.

- "I'd like to hit a Russian 'Su'... one day they will all 'sit down' in these fields," the soldier adds.

On his uniform we can see a brigade chevron with the inscription "We do not fly ourselves and do not let others fly". Anti-aircraft gunners are humorous guys.

WILL THE WAR END AFTER PUTIN'S FUNERAL?

In Pixel's breast pocket is his first state award, the Golden Cross. He received it the very next day after a successful "hunt". He considers the award to be significant, but he did not intend to show it off: if we had not known about it, it would have remained in his pocket.

- I didn't think about any medals, but it was nice. The main thing for me was that the missile did not reach its target. My parents wrote to say they were proud," the anti-aircraft gunner says.

"Shooting down a missile is a team effort. Acoustic and visual surveillance must be conducted by several people, because everyone has different eyesight and hearing.

- Someone may not hear or see. When there are more of us, there are more opportunities. There should also be a confirmation of the shooting down - video recording," he adds.

At the end of the conversation, I mention how people "bury Putin" on social media with a certain frequency, hoping that victory will come. I ask him if he believes in it.

- There will be no victory with Putin's funeral, because he may be giving the orders, but he is not the one shooting. People are shooting, their people. Their people are also guiding the missiles. This is not only a problem of the country's leader, it is a problem of the whole nation. Perhaps their propaganda or something else has influenced them. In the minds of many Russians, they have to destroy Ukraine or capture it. Their goals are not really known to anyone now. So why are they doing this? I don't think the war will end quickly," Adik said.

On the day he shot down the X-101, other brigade units destroyed two more missiles that were flying toward Ivano-Frankivsk. One was taken out by a Stinger, the other by a machine gun, also of Soviet design. The anti-aircraft gunners call it "the correct use of weapons."

Olha Zvonariova, Zaporizhzhia

Photo by Dmytro Smolenko