Ukraine's special forces destroy Russia's latest Buk-M3 air defense and Nebo-U radar station

"On the night of September 28, the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Black Spark rebel movement in Russia, carried out special operations. As a result, the Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system and the Nebo-U early warning radar station in the Rostov region were turned into scrap metal," the Special Operations Forces say in a statement.

Each of these systems is worth several hundred million dollars. The Buk-M3 is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 80 km, while the Nebo-U can detect fighter jets at a distance of up to 400 km. Both systems posed a major threat to the operations of Ukraine's combat aviation in the frontline zone and prevented Ukrainian strikes deep into Russia.

Buk-M3

The Buk-M3 is a medium-range air defense system for ground forces. It is designed to combat air targets, fire at radio-contrast ground targets, and destroy surface targets. The system is capable of engaging air targets flying at speeds of up to 3 km/s at ranges of 2.5 to 80 km and altitudes of 15 m to 35 km.

The Buk-M3 was developed based on the Buk-M2 system with the transition to new electronic components. It was planned to adopt the system into service in 2009, but these plans were not implemented.

Then, in the first half of 2013, it was planned to start serial production of the complex, but at the end of the year, the media announced that the Buk-M3 air defense system was planned to be delivered to the Russian Armed Forces in 2016.

Nebo-U

Nebo-U is a Russian radar station operating in the meter wave band. It was developed by the Nizhny Novgorod Research Institute of Radio Engineering. It is available in versions for air defense forces and ground forces.

In the air defense version, the antenna system is more complex, the installation and dismantling time is significantly longer, and the station's capabilities are broader. In the version for ground forces, the antenna system is simplified to increase mobility.

The altitude measurement accuracy is 400-600 m, depending on the height of the target. The radar detects targets at an altitude of 500 m at a range of 65 km, and at an altitude of 20 km at a range of over 400 km.

Ukrainian special forces struck a radar station of the Russian S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile system located in Crimea.

Ukraine's special forces fighters used an FPV drone to damage a Russian Ka-52 Alligator helicopter. In particular, it is reported that the Russian helicopter was shot down in flight.