Artillery systems are one of the most sought-after targets in the war in Ukraine. Polish self-propelled howitzers Krab help the Ukrainians a lot, but the Russians are actively hunting them down. If you took a look at the statistics of losses, compiled by open source intelligence enthusiasts and official agencies, you would notice that the majority of the armoured equipment losses on both sides are not inflicted by unmanned aerial vehicles.
Polish self-propelled 155 mm howitzer Krab in the Ukrainian service. Image credit: Armyinform.com.ua via Wikimedia (CC BY 4.0)
In fact, the majority of losses inflicted by Russia on the Armed Forces of Ukraine are done by the ZALA Lancet kamikaze drones. The defenders of Ukraine agree that the Lancet is pretty much the most effective long-range weapon Russia has. The Lancet has an effective range of around 40 kilometres and is easily powerful enough to take out heavy armoured equipment. It is extremely dangerous for all Ukrainian armoured machinery, but it is especially threatening to the Ukrainian artillery systems.
The position of artillery systems can be determined by analyzing the trajectory of the rounds. This is easier than it sounds, because there are specialized counter-battery radars developed specifically for this function. Once the location of the howitzers is determined, they can be engaged with counter-battery fire. Russians often choose to launch Lancet drones towards the Ukrainian artillery positions. But are there any ways to defend against the Lancet?
Well, there are. Lancet drones stay quite high in the air before diving towards their targets, but they can be shot down. The defenders of Ukraine have also used electronic warfare means to engage them with jamming attacks. However, as it turns out, passive defences can sometimes be the most effective ones.
A simple metal mesh protected one Polish Krab self-propelled howitzer from a Russian Lancet drone strike. Just a steel netting, similar to that used in fences. While the so-called cope cages are ineffective against anti-tank missiles, they do provide some level of protection against drones.
In November 2023, photos appeared online showing a Krab howitzer covered in metal mesh. Those cape cages do work. They don’t protect against anti-tank missiles or artillery strikes, but they provide at least some cover from larger drones. Smaller FPV drones probably can dive underneath them, but at least one photo shows that a simple steel mesh protected the Krab howitzer from the Lancet strike.
⚡️The anti-drone net saved the 🇺🇦Ukrainian 155-mm self-propelled howitzer “Krab” from the 🇷🇺Russian kamikaze drone “Lancet” pic.twitter.com/TD7dwRvhBw
— 🇺🇦Ukrainian Front (@front_ukrainian) January 31, 2024
By the way, Ukraine revealed that the country’s engineers are working on a Lancet-style kamikaze drone capable of covering 40 km. This is quite a rare direction, because Ukraine is now looking more towards Western rather than Russian systems. However, the ZALA Lancet is THAT effective that it is worth copying.
Written by Povilas M.
Source: Tech.wp.pl