Ukraine is expected to get more upgraded S-300PMU1 air defence systems from Greece after acquiring the S-300PMU from Slovakia.
If Greece transfers the modern S-300PMU1 air defence complex, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to lock the skies in the Donbass battle zone. The United States is exerting a lot of pressure on Greece to supply the S-300PMU1 air defence missile system to Ukraine. The US promised to provide Patriot missile defence systems as compensation to its allies. According to sources, since Turkey declined to transfer the S-400 air defence system to Ukraine, the US went to Greece to cede the S-300PMU1 complex.
Greece’s posture has shifted, since Athens earlier stated that it would no longer supply military aid to Ukraine because doing so would impair the country’s defence capabilities. If all goes well, Ukraine will have a modern anti-air missile system in its hands, far more potent than the S-300PMU complex it recently obtained from Slovakia. The S-300PMU1 is a Russian long-range air defence missile system made by Almaz-Antey that the Ukrainian Army has on its payroll. It is a significantly evolved version of the original S 300 constructed under the Soviet Union (including S-300PT and S-300PS). With upgraded and larger 48N6 missiles, the S-300PMU1 air defence system (NATO reporting name SA-20 Gargoyle) was initially introduced in 1992.
The missile appeared for the first time in a land-based deployment role and had all the improved features from the naval version of the S-300FM including increased speed, range, guidance and anti-aircraft capabilities. ballistic missile. On a single self-propelled launcher, the S-300PMU1 may fire a variety of interceptor missiles. 5V55R, 48N6E (range 150 km), and 48N6E2 are the most common ammo types (range 195 km). The system can also fire two new missile types, the 9M96E1 and 9M96E2. Both missiles are lighter than previous versions, weighing only 330 kg and 420 kg (compared to 1.8 tonnes for the 48N6E2) and carrying a 24 kg warhead (the warhead of the 48N6 weighs 150 kg).
Missile 9M96E1 has a range of 1 – 40 km and 9M96E2 has a range of 1 – 120 km (compared to 150 km for the 48N6E and 195 km for the 48N6E2), and one launcher can carry four 48N6 missile rounds or sixteen 9M96 missile rounds. Although it is compatible with previous Baikal-1E and Senezh-M1E CCS command and control systems, the S-300PMU1 commonly employs the 83M6E command and control system. The 83M6E system is linked to the 64N6E radar for detection and monitoring (BIG BIRD). The guidance and fire control radar for the S-300PMU1 is the 30N6E, which can be used in conjunction with a 76N6 or 36D6 low capture radar and a 96L6E all-altitude reconnaissance radar.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky previously stated that if the country obtained the new generation S 300 complexes, it would be able to seal the Donbass sky against Russia’s most powerful fighters.
