The UK reinforces Ukraine’s air defense with unannounced AIM-132 ASRAAMs on an ersatz launch
ASRAAM is an air-to-air missile that the British pragmatically turned into an anti-aircraft missile for the Armed Forces
In addition to the well-known Patriot, NASAMS, and Iris-T and other Western anti-aircraft missile systems, the Ukrainian Air Force has another model of SAM that has not been announced at all.
The information about it was published by the British Times, citing an unnamed officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who gave some details about Ukraine’s air defense, including the presence of several systems such as the AIM-132 ASRAAM on a SupaCat truck launcher.
It should be noted that the AIM-132 ASRAAM missile itself is an air-to-air missile, but it can be used as an anti-aircraft missile due to its sufficiently high energy. The missile accelerates to a speed of over Mach 3 and has a range of over 25 km when launched from an airplane.
It has an infrared homing head, and a laser sensor is responsible for initiating it, in addition to a contact fuze. The rocket has rather moderate dimensions – 2.9 meters in length with 88 kg of launch weight.
The photo shows that the system of ASRAAM integration into the SAM also did not present any significant technological difficulties: the missiles use an aircraft pylon that is already mounted on a carriage to launch them.
Also on the launcher, you can see a small-sized radar on the mast, which is necessary for airspace control. At the same time, ASRAAM can be launched without its use due to the fact that it has an infrared homing head.
As for the range of ASRAAM in the case of a ground launch, we are likely talking about a range of about 10 km. Thus, these vehicles can take the place of such a system as the Wasp, but with the ability to operate in ambush mode, without radar.
It is important to note that the ASRAAM missile is a British missile from MBDA, and in addition to this country, it is used by the Australian air force. At the same time, the solutions used to create this SAM can be implemented for a much more popular short-range air defense missile, the American AIM-9.
