The Russian armed forces have captured a long-range US-made ATAKMS missile guidance system and are studying the American military technology used in it, Reuters reported, citing information from the Russian state agency RIA Novosti, quoted by BTA.
Footballs published by RIA Novosti show an anonymous Russian weapons expert wearing a balaclava type mask who says he is studying the guidance system of a US ATAKMS tactical missile apparently shot down by Russian forces.
Reuters notes that it could not verify what the weapons component was that fell into the hands of the Russian military. The footage shows the expert pointing to a label on the back of the Jeep's missile guidance system, indicating that it is from a US Army warehouse in Alabama. He explains that the captured hardware gives Russia the information on how the missiles are guided.
Viktor Litovkin, a retired Russian army colonel, told Lenta.ru that Moscow would try to find the system's vulnerabilities and use the information gathered to more effectively intercept ATAKMS missiles.
"We can modify our surface-to-air missile launch systems, as well as improve the fine-tuning of our military electronics for these missiles," Litovkin told Lenta.ru.
Washington began supplying Kiev with long-range ATAKMS missiles a few months ago, after rejecting Kiev's requests for such weapons for two years, Reuters recalled. The missiles can hit targets up to three hundred kilometers from their launch point, which is twice the range of the HYMARS missiles that the US will deliver to Ukraine starting in 2022, the agency said.
Moscow has condemned Washington for supplying these missiles, saying such actions lead to an escalation of tensions. Russia accuses the US military of assisting Ukraine in launching the ATAKMS missiles - a thesis that the Americans reject, adds Reuters.