By David Axe
Ukrainian aircraft fire US-made AGM-88 high-velocity missiles (HARM) against Russian air defenses in Ukraine.
This is an unexpected development, given that HARMs are normally incompatible with the Soviet-made MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters and the Su-24 and Su-25 aircraft of the Ukrainian air force.
But one can guess how Ukrainians and Americans made the “marriage” possible.
Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister, hinted in July about acquiring anti-radar missiles. But the first evidence of US HARMs in Ukraine came last week, when photos appeared online showing debris from a missile somewhere in Ukraine with the distinctive markings of an AGM-88. More photos followed on Thursday.
The photos caused widespread speculation. Since no air force has ever integrated HARM into a Soviet-type aircraft, some analysts have questioned whether a NATO ally of Ukraine launched the missiles.
This is of course unlikely, as NATO – although a strong supporter of Ukraine – carefully avoids direct involvement in the war, to avoid the obvious reasons for escalation.
On the other hand, some analysts have pointed out that later models of Raytheon’s AGM-88 are compatible with ground-based launchers. Perhaps the Ukrainians had assembled some sort of improvised launcher for older HARMs.
On Monday, US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kall put an end to the speculation. The Ukrainian air force was firing HARMs that US President Joe Biden’s administration transferred to Ukraine as part of a presidential initiative that allows it to ship surplus US weapons abroad.
“We’ve included a number of anti-radar missiles that can be launched by Ukrainian aircraft,” Kahl said. “There are also things we’re doing to try to make their existing capabilities more effective.”
Kahl even hinted at which of Ukraine’s roughly 100 remaining front-line warplanes carry these missiles. Kahl referred to speculation that Ukraine is “quietly” acquiring – or at least seeking to acquire – second-hand MiG-29s from NATO countries.
“A lot was made of the MiG-29 thing several months ago,” Cal said. “Not much has been noticed about the huge amounts of parts and other things that we’ve done to really help them get more of their MiG-29s. in the air and to keep in the air longer those that are already flying”.
The MiG-29 is the most common fighter type of the Ukrainian Air Force. Even accounting for wartime losses, it is likely that Kyiv still has 50 or more MiG-29s.
A MiG-29 has never been photographed carrying a HARM, but aspects of the weapon’s design make integration possible. In US service, HARM normally operates as part of a larger system for the so-called “destroy enemy air defenses” or DEAD mission.
The US Air Force’s F-16s – specifically, the 200 or so Block 50 models of the classic fighter – are the primary HARM carriers. The F-16s also carry HARM Targeting System pods, which contain sensitive sensors to pinpoint the positions of enemy air defense arrays. The HTS pod transmits targeting data to the missile, which engages the target.
It’s a less precise targeting method, but also requires less integration. It’s not hard to imagine American technicians remotely helping Ukrainian engineers add the HARM equipment as the latter retrofit their MiGs for DEAD missions.
The practical use of the missile in battle is simple. When the missile detects a radar, an icon appears on the cockpit screen. The pilot moves the cursor to the icon and pulls the trigger.
Source: Capital

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