Four HARM Anti-radar Missiles Shot Down Over Belgorod: Russia MoD

Russia’s military shot down four U.S.-made HARM anti-radar missiles in Belgorod, its defense ministry claimed today.

"Four American HARM anti-radar missiles were shot down in the airspace of the Belgorod region," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a regular press briefing.

A Ukrainian MiG-29 firing two AGM-88 HARMs surfaced online on December 16. Reports estimate that more than 100 HARMs have been launched since the Ukrainian Armed Forces acquired them. Russian military has reportedly learned the characteristics of these supersonic air defense killers and began intercepting them successfully, The EurAsian Times reported citing media outlets.

The U.S. government confirmed it had supplied these missiles to Ukraine this August. The confirmation sparked concerns over whether Western ammunition would work with Ukraine’s ex-Soviet aircraft fleet.

Physical modifications would be required to modify such aircraft, but that is not the most challenging aspect of launching HARM missiles from Soviet aircraft hardpoint pylons. A data link must be established between the pilot and the munition to transfer information about possible targets’ positions and characteristics.

However, NATO has expertise in adapting Soviet-era aircraft to improve their compatibility with NATO hardware. For instance, Poland and Slovakia modernized their MiG-29 aircraft to better comply with NATO requirements. 

Ukraine has also shown that it can modify and employ Western weaponry in ways that were not designed. For example, Brimstone missiles meant to be launched from aircraft have been seen being fired from modified trucks.

“These (HARM) missiles showed actually zero effectiveness in the framework of the hostilities in Ukraine – most of them were shot down by Russian anti-aircraft missile systems, another part was suppressed or set aside by means of electronic protection of air defense systems,” Russian media reported citing sources, as per The EurAsian Times.

The source added that some of these missiles also failed or missed the target owing to their “mediocre maximum speed, which is a little over 600 meters per second (1342 miles per hour), and high visibility.” For comparison, the maximum speed of the Russian AS-17 Krypton and AS-11 Kilter anti-radar missiles exceeds 1,000 and 1,100 meters per second, respectively, and the launch range is over 200 kilometers.

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HARM missiles reportedly create certain difficulties in time-coordinated combined strikes because air defense systems are automatically redirected to them as a priority threat. “However, Ukrainian troops have not yet been able to hit a single radar of the Russian air defense system, as well as illumination and engagement radars in the area of ​​the special military operation with HARM missiles,” the source claimed.