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VoidMageZero t1_jecp667 wrote

How many did Ukraine shoot down?

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deliveryboyy t1_jedsmty wrote

Kharkiv is a city close to the border, so russia can use dumb ballistic missiles for strikes, and those are almost impossible to shoot down.

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Snoogin t1_jee5w1g wrote

Where have you read that dumb ballistic missiles are almost impossible to shoot down? They are the easiest type to shoot down.

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deliveryboyy t1_jee68af wrote

Tell that to s300 missiles (used as dumb ballistic ones) that are regularly used to bomb kharkiv and are very rarely shot down in contrast to cruise missiles.

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Snoogin t1_jee7m1j wrote

The s300 used in "ground" mode, uses an INS and contrast identification during it's terminal phase. It's still guided, albeit badly. The S300 is also much faster than the jet engine on a cruise missile.

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deliveryboyy t1_jeea9p4 wrote

S300 in ground mode is launched on a ballistic trajectory, hence me referring to them as ballistic missiles. It being slightly guided on that ballistic trajectory doesn't make it not a ballistic missile.

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Snoogin t1_jeedwe5 wrote

Ballistic just means indirect fire.

Your original statement also included "dumb", which is also incorrect.

Also, the INS makes the missile, per definition, guided.

Furthermore, almost all AA systems were originally developed to also counter ballistic threats. It's been a core requirement since the inception of AA.

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deliveryboyy t1_jeeelr2 wrote

I agree, the "dumb" definition was incorrect on my part.

I might be less knowledgeable on the matter than you are, therefore I'd like to ask. Why does Ukraine currently has much more issues with shooting down ground mode s300 than with cruise missiles like Kh series?

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Snoogin t1_jeei66y wrote

Cruise missiles are terrain hugging which allows them to be shot down by manpads while the s300 requires a more robust aa system to engage. Ukraine is saturated in manpads so cruise missiles have a hard time.

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