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Ukraine operates Hawk air defense systems manufactured in the United States in the 1960s.
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Although the United States abandoned these tools decades ago, kyiv now uses them to destroy Russian missiles.
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A Ukrainian operator recently praised the efficiency of this obsolete system.
The Ukrainians are using a U.S.-made air defense system, which the United States decommissioned more than two decades ago, to successfully shoot down Russian cruise missiles.
The MIM-23 Hawk is a medium-range surface-to-air system that was first deployed in the 1960s and was long considered obsolete as militaries favored more portable systems. But these second-hand weapons have found new life in Ukraine, proving that they are still useful tools after all these years.
A Ukrainian soldier who uses the Hawk system, which stands for “Homing All the Way Killer,” said that while it is not a new weapon, it is “effective in skilled hands.” It has already shot down more than two dozen aircraft, including Russian Kh-59 cruise missiles and Iranian-made Shahed one-way attack drones.
Private Oleksandr was presented by the Ukrainian Air Force on Wednesday. interviewwhich was posted on the AFU’s Telegram messaging app, he said, Shahed drones are the most annoying to face because they fly very slowly, so it is tiring to fight them for long periods.
“Working with missiles is much easier, even when they are aimed at you,” Oleksandr said. “It was a little uncomfortable when three Kh-59 missiles, constantly changing altitude, were flying straight at us. But all the targets were captured and destroyed one by one.”
“The main secret is not in the weapon we are working on, but in the synchronized and coordinated work of the unit,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks. “We understand perfectly well the risks and consequences if we do not listen to each other or ignore each other.”
The Hawk system was deployed around the world during its four decades of service with the U.S. military, and saw combat in the Middle East. By the 1990s, however, with the end of the Cold War, the air threat to U.S. forces had changed and The Hawk was retired and replaced with low-altitude systems such as the FIM-92 Stinger and Avenger. The MIM-104 Patriot was also available to meet other U.S. air defense needs.
Although the United States no longer uses them, several countries still operates the Hawk and its many variants, including Spain, which first envoy to Ukraine a handful of launchers in October 2022. The Biden administration has since given an unspecified number of Hawk systems and munitions to kyiv and pledged to get more for the country in the long term.
Ukrainian officials have regularly pressed the United States and its NATO allies to bolster their air defense capabilities to combat the Russian threat. While the Hawk is an outdated capability, it still helps fill crucial gaps in the skies.
The Hawk is not the only 1960s-era – and apparently obsolete – weapon to have found success in Ukraine. German made cheetah The guns have also proven very effective in shooting down low-altitude Russian drones and cruise missiles.
Read the original article on Business Insider
