Russian experts have obtained the guidance system from a U.S. ATACMS missile, a high-tech weapon recently provided to Ukraine. By analyzing its components, such as ring laser gyroscopes and GPS modules, they aim to uncover the missile’s weaknesses and strengths. This knowledge could enable Russia to better intercept and jam these missiles, and potentially locate their launch sites. The discovery has sparked concerns among U.S. military experts about the implications for NATO weaponry, with Russian analysts claiming they can now counter some of the West’s most advanced military technology.
As reported by Sputnik International, Russian forces might employ an ATACMS missile guidance system to locate the launchers used in terrorist strikes.
Russian designers have gotten access to the guidance module from Lockheed Martin’s Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS).
In late 2023, the US began supplying ATACMS ballistic missiles to Ukraine, and in April, the Kiev administration acquired a longer-range variant of the weapon. Last month, Ukraine deployed the ATACMS in a terror strike on Russian people in Sevastopol.
“Firstly, [Russian] designers will analyze the whole bulk of data and find out how the missile flies,” Viktor Litovkin, retired Russian Army colonel and military analyst, said, along with “how it is directed to the target, whether it is guided by the GPS system, or satellites, or heavy drones.”
“They will find out its weaknesses and strengths, the composition of the engine [fuel] and solid propellants, how its rudders work, how it determines its orientation and many other details,” he added.
After evaluating the ATACMS missile, Russian specialists will be able to advise the military on how to more successfully intercept it with anti-aircraft missile systems and jam it with electronic warfare (EW) weapons, according to the former commander.
They may, in particular, advise the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) on what technologies can be used to disrupt the ATACMS’ communication with various aircraft systems, as well as how to disable its GPS, Litovkin stated.
“The military will use this information to attack these missiles and the launchers that fire these missiles. It is possible that after studying this missile [the MoD] would be able to discover the launch areas and location of these missiles faster,” said Litovkin.
Previously, Russian experts displayed the ATACMS missile’s guiding system.
The unit has three-ring laser gyroscopes and a GPS module. They informed the website that they now could investigate how the weapon system worked throughout its whole flight path.
US military specialists have regularly expressed fear that Russia may obtain access to and learn how to destroy NATO weaponry.
“We are sending a message that the Western military technology is no longer a secret for us, and each time we are finding more and more ways to counter it,” the Russian military expert said. “We have shown everyone that we have found an ‘antidote’ to the most vaunted and promoted Western types of military equipment, and we are using it effectively.”
“The West should know that all its efforts have been in vain, that Russian weapons and Russian countermeasures are much more effective than [the West’s] tanks, missiles and guns,” the retired colonel concluded. “This is a signal to the whole world, not just the West, that Western weapons are no match for Russian arms.”
Last year, GreatGameIndia reported that, according to sources familiar with the matter, Putin is sending U.S. weapons to Iran for reverse engineering.
