Colonel Khatylev: “We must better prepare for the repetition of such attacks”
On the night of September 13, Sevastopol and the ships of the Black Sea Fleet came under a missile attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to the Ministry of Defense, the attack was carried out by ten cruise missiles on the Sevastopol shipyard, as well as three surface drones on a detachment of ships of the Black Sea Fleet. The drones were destroyed by the patrol ship Vasily Bykov. Seven cruise missiles were shot down by air defense, but three missiles still managed to reach their target. They caused damage to production workshops and equipment, 24 people were injured, and a fire broke out on the southern site of the plant. Two ships in the plant's dry dock were damaged.
Photo: Social networks
Why this became possible and how to prevent repetition of attacks, ex-chief of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the Special Forces Command, retired colonel Sergei Khatylev, told MK.
Sevastopol Marine Plant is the largest shipbuilding enterprise in Crimea, which is considered the main repair base of the Black Sea Fleet. The partially successful Ukrainian missile attack on it is now being presented by Kiev to American sponsors as almost the main victory of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
And on our Networks, military professionals analyze in detail the details of the night missile attack: how was it carried out and why did it achieve its goal? The Rybar channel provides details of the night raid. According to him, at around three o'clock in the morning, five Su-24M bombers of the Ukrainian Air Force took off from the Starokonstantinov airbase in the Khmelnytsky region to launch ten Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles at Sevastopol.
It is known that four aircraft reached the launch line was over the Nikolaev and Kherson regions, and one carried out an attack from the side of Zmeiny Island, in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.
Units of the Russian Air Force and Air Defense division shot down seven targets. Five, as the online resource writes, citing its sources, were destroyed by the crew of the Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and gun complex, one missile was shot down by the S-400 division, and the seventh missile was destroyed by a MiG-31 fighter.
However three Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles still reached their target — they hit the Sergo Ordzhonikidze plant in Sevastopol.
— In principle, this night missile strike is a classic picture of a massive air strike, the possibility of which I warned earlier, — Colonel Khatylev explains.
— Yes, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are increasing their efforts in this direction. Kyiv evaluates us as a serious adversary and strives to carry out so-called “star raids,” when a target is attacked simultaneously from several directions. So far, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' lack of full aviation superiority reduces their capabilities.
— Yes, and these Su-24s worked according to the classics: first from one, then from the second, then from third direction.
True, our actions to repel an attack can also be considered classic. The MiG-31 fighter-interceptor worked and destroyed the target. The fleet sank naval kamikaze drones. Pantsir-S1 systems shot down five missiles. The only question I have is why did the S-400 complex work on only one target? In principle, he had to destroy at least half of the targets at distant approaches. «Pantsir-S1» still needs to be «refined» after it in the near zone.
— I think we should expect in the future the construction of such massive attacks not only on Crimea, but also on those objects that are located along our entire land border. I believe that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will especially focus on areas of possible breakthrough of our defense, where they are now trying to concentrate their forces.
— I believe that there was only one mistake possible on our part associated with the interaction of heterogeneous forces. You know, I have always given good assessments of the interaction of the Black Sea Fleet, the air defense of the Ground Forces and our Crimean Air Force and Air Defense division. But in this case, it’s still possible that someone somewhere didn’t work.
Maybe the sailors got carried away by hunting for sea drones-boats, which, of course, also pose a danger, or the task was not assigned to the fleet in a timely manner, or something else was not worked out. But the error most likely lies in insufficient interaction — who was supposed to shoot at what targets.
— We need to build a perimeter defense. Another stage of hostilities begins. Gone are the days when you had to work towards one type of goal. Previously, when only drones were flying, we learned to work on them with complexes of all types. When maritime drones began to be sent to us, sailors learned to practice using them. When the missile attacks began — and they stopped at one time, but are now continuing again — we also worked out tactics, methods and methods to combat them.
Now the enemy is using all this in combination, already at the next, higher stage in a massive version. This means that we should also reach another level of control and interaction, creating unified mobile air defense groups around all important objects. Additional measures are also necessary: smoke, deception of the enemy, false information, false radio traffic, and so on.
— In no case! This is all a single plan, for the implementation of which it was necessary to develop a clear sequence of attacks from various means and directions. Everything was tied to time and place. This means that accurate intelligence data and clear coordination with the use of long-range radar detection and guidance aircraft were required. Only the Americans could provide this to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. By the way, the activity of NATO reconnaissance aircraft in the Black Sea region has increased greatly in recent days.
— Definitely. The Armed Forces of Ukraine clearly understood which of our air defense systems could be rebooted at that time, or, for example, which ones were undergoing routine maintenance.
— No one goes anywhere during a battle. Everything is charged in place. If you shoot at ten enemy missiles, then all our complexes have enough missiles in any case. The S-400 has 48 missiles, which is enough for firing. The Pantsir also has a lot of missiles, and besides, it doesn’t fire at a target alone, there are several of them in one battery.
So those who write that they missed three Storm Shadows because that they went to reload, and the Americans knew about it, are wrong. But there seemed to be problems in the interaction of heterogeneous forces and air defense systems. They need to be assessed and resolved as quickly as possible, since such a combined raid, apparently, was not the last.