The weapons and military hardware hurriedly supplied by the US and other western nations have played a major role in stalling the fearsome Russian juggernaut. Among these, the American HARM missile has stood out with its ability to destroy Russian radars.
The HARM missile has helped Ukraine to counter Russia’s formidable S-400 system Image Credit. Twitter/@kadonkey
New Delhi: Despite the formidable reputation of the Russian military, the much smaller armed forces of Ukraine have done well to hold them to a bloody stalemate. Ukraine forces in recent days have recaptured several town and cities in the strategically important Kharkiv province.
The weapons and military hardware hurriedly supplied by the US and other western nations have played a major role in stalling the fearsome Russian juggernaut. Among these, the American HARM missile has stood out with its ability to destroy Russian radars, and has become a serious headache for the invading forces.
The High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile or AGM-88 HARM is a tactical, air-to-surface anti-radiation missile designedto target electronic signals transmitted by enemy surface-to-air radar systems.
This missile garnered international attention when Russia accused the US and NATO of supplying weapons to Ukraine. The Russian military has alleged that the remains of an AGM-88 HARM missile have been found near a Russian surface-to-air missile site. The US later admitted that some anti-radar missiles were supplied to Ukraine, lending credence to the Russian claims.
Features of HARM missile:
1) The AGM-88 HARM is an air-to-surface anti-radar missile. It has proved to be and effective counter for theRussia’s much touted S-400 missile defense system.
2) The HARM missile has a height of 14 meters. Its diameter is only 10 inches. Its weight is about 360 kg. It hasa fragmentation type warhead which is optimized for radar targets. It also incorporates an anti-radar homing seekerbroadband RF antenna and receiver and a solid state digital processor. The missile has a range of more than 100 km.
3) The US government had approved the HARM missile for full production in March 1983. In 1991, the HARM was usedextensively by the US Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force in Operation Desert Storm during the first Gulf War. In 2013, then US President Barack Obama offered the AGM-88 to Israel for the first time.
4) In November 2005, the Italian Ministry of Defense and the US Department of Defense reached an agreement on the joint development of this missile. In December 2019, the German Air Force has also given a green signal to the army to take up this missile.
5) This missile was developed by American firm Texas Instruments. It is now manufactured with some modifications by the leading US defense contractor Raytheon Corporation. It is an air-to-surface anti-radar missile.
6) This missile is capable of penetrating and disrupting the enemy’s radar system. It detects the radiation emitted by enemy radars to seek and destroy its target.
7) The fact that the HARM missile has managed to disrupt the S-400 system – claimed to be the best anti-missile system in the world – is a major tactical development in modern warfare.
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