The US’s new $200 million aid package includes thermally guided Aim-9 Sidewinder munitions for a “new air defense system,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in Brussels yesterday. Neither the Pentagon chief nor defense spokesmen consulted by American military experts have explained what the new system will look like.
However, according to the War Zone website, it could be a development of the Chaparral, a surface-to-air sidewinder system used between the 1960s and 1990s, consisting of a turret with a quadruple launcher mounted on a vehicle – such as the M113 armored vehicles for troop transport – or towed. It could also be mounted on another vehicle or on platforms, as was the case with the Buk launchers of Soviet origin.
The chaparral system was exported to several countries during the Cold War and is still used in some, most notably Taiwan. If they were in limited supply, the United States could buy them from third countries and then hand them over to the Kiev army. The one promised in Kiev could be a modernized or modified version of an old system, but it has the advantage of being “relied” on good availability of Aim-9M missiles: in the United States, this version of Sidewinder is being decommissioned, to switch to the new Aim-9M missiles. 9Xs, as well as in other NATO countries that could replace them and send them to Ukraine to power the new system.
Another option, again according to War Zone, could be the creation of new systems based on Aim-9M ammunition, as the United Kingdom did with the supply of vehicles for firing Aim-32 infrared guided missiles, but this would be more of an improvised solution. In any case, air defense systems firing Aim-9M missiles would be very useful for the Ukrainian resistance, which is preparing for another winter of war with a new and more violent terror campaign against energy infrastructure.
Between October 2022 and April 2023, around 1,200 drones and missiles were fired against Ukraine, and there are said to be 500 in September 2023 alone. Last year, Moscow launched its winter campaign on October 10, firing 84 rockets into Ukrainian cities and damaging energy infrastructure. In the weeks that followed, the army stepped up its attacks with missiles fired from fighter jets, ships and submarines in the Black Sea, or with Iran-developed Shahed drones. Overall, according to the operator Ukrenergo, the Russians have destroyed or damaged almost half of the country’s energy facilities: thermal and hydroelectric power plants or substations, which in many cases are still being repaired.
In addition to civilian infrastructure, the Russians are also targeting frontline troops who are vulnerable to attacks from drones and helicopter gunships. The Resistance has received several air defense systems, including Italian-French Samp/Ts, but few remain available. For this reason, President Volodymyr Zelensky flew to Brussels on Wednesday to take part in the sixteenth meeting of the “Contact Group”, the summit of defense ministers of the Kiev-supporting NATO countries, and beforehand called for a “winter shelter” over Ukraine He fears – the Israel- Crisis distracts partners.
The Western allies are therefore seeking to increase the resistance’s air defense capabilities and announced new deliveries on Wednesday in Brussels: In addition to the mysterious American system, the United Kingdom sent the Terrahawk Paladins, a wheeled platform equipped with cannons. Lithuania is effective against drones , Lithuania has promised two batteries of Nasam surface-to-air missiles, Germany has approved new Gepard armored vehicles, two Iris-T surface-to-air batteries and the expected Patriots.