US President Joe Biden allowed Kiev to attack targets in Russia with ATACMS missiles. But the weapon has a short range and has lost much of its former effectiveness.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden has given Ukraine permission to attack targets ”deep inside” Russia using US-supplied weapons. It is essentially a single system, the ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System), a ballistic and tactical missile. Biden has not yet made medium-range cruise missiles available to Kiev.
ATACMS has a narrow military definition. That’s at least 300 kilometers, depending on the types the US delivered to Ukraine. However, the range is significantly lower than that of drones produced by Kiev itself. These are based on small planes and have already reached destinations more than 1,000 kilometers away.
Britain had previously given Ukraine permission to use the Storm Shadow cruise missile against targets in Russia. Germany has not yet delivered any “Taurus” cruise missiles.
Unlike Taurus, Tomahawk or Storm Shadow, an ATACMS does not require a jet to operate. It is launched from special ground launch vehicles. Therefore there is no need to put valuable aircraft at risk. The Ukrainians hide these vehicles: they can only be discovered directly in action. Depending on the series, the ATACMS can hit targets at a maximum distance of between 160 and approximately 300 kilometers. Since launchers are rarely placed directly on the boundary, you need to subtract your safety distance. So they cannot reach all of Russian territory, but they can reach the command centers and logistics centers of Russian troops in the Kursk region. Russia has announced that it views these operations as an escalation and believes that American soldiers are directly involved. For example, in target reconnaissance, planning and weapons control. Given that Ukraine does not have its own reconnaissance capabilities in Russian territory, this is not entirely unreasonable.
May 31, 2023, 7.49pm
Russian counterpart
Regardless of the political dimensions, the question arises as to what effects ATACMS attacks will have. First of all, the weapon is not unique. The Russians have the more powerful Iskander 9K720. Depending on the type, the ballistic missile has a range of more than 500 kilometers. It is used in large numbers against Ukraine. At best, the Ukrainians will be able to catch up if they receive adequate quantities.
Like all weapons of this type, the ATACMS has only one warhead, the long-range one has a payload of only about 200 kilograms, less than half that of an Iskander. It can be equipped with a cluster warhead or one for bunkered targets. Such a rocket is not suitable for large-scale destruction. It must precisely attack very valuable targets, ideally those that cause fires or secondary explosions that increase the effect of the missile itself. Or valuable targets being destroyed by cluster munitions. These would be ammunition and fuel depots or helicopters and jets, as long as they are not protected by shelters.
The ATACMS cannot be expected to have a similar effect to that of Russian glide bombs, which weigh up to 3,000 kilograms. However, a large area within Russia is becoming vulnerable. There, the Russian military must prepare against attacks by avoiding storing vehicles in the open, camping over large areas or building protective bunkers for their aircraft. In any case, you will have to invest more efforts.
Interference with precision weapons
At the moment it is impossible to say how precisely the weapons hit. So far, the Russians have succeeded relatively quickly in electronically destroying the West’s precision weapons. The use of Excalibur grenades, Storm Shadows Himars launchers and even the ATACMS quickly lost much of its effectiveness. The ATACMS are currently in Ukraine and could be used against targets in Crimea or the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine even before Biden’s decision. In theory, they could have been used to destroy the logistics of the Russian offensive in Donbass. It didn’t happen. Many experts suspect that these missiles will now be used against North Korean troops in the Kursk region.
November 18, 2024, 1.56pm
the ATACMS missile system offers Ukraine the capability to engage high-value Russian targets without exposing aircraft to direct risk. While it has limitations compared to Russia’s sophisticated weaponry like the Iskander, it can still impact Russian military operations by targeting logistic centers and command posts in specific regions. The strategic context of these missile strikes raises tensions, and both nations are adjusting their military tactics in response to the evolving battlefield dynamics. The overall effectiveness of the ATACMS in the conflict remains to be fully assessed, especially given the historical challenges faced by Western precision weapons against Russian electronic countermeasures.