[Goose]

Russian S-400 battery turned into pricey fireworks by ATACMS with cluster munitions.

https://x.com/yarotrof/status/1793942422138806460

Very interesting! I guess the S-400's vaunted ability to "shoot down" ballistic missiles is indeed a bit over-stated. The ATACMS apparently were M39 or M39A1 as these are the models with cluster munitions. Too bad we aren't making them any more. They are nice because they can "miss" the center of the target and still spread bomblets over the target area, as was seen in this video. I believe that in this conflict Patriots have shot down Iskanders (SS-26 variety), which is in the same class as ATACMS. In fairness it seems Russia is not deploying and using their acquisition radars as part of an IADS in Ukraine. That does reduce the warning time. OTOH, there may be reasons they are not.

This is indeed how the ATACMS is supposed to be used. High value targets that can be moved relatively easily (like the S-400) can be ephemeral. Locate it and hit it before they move it.

[Goose]

Russian S-400 battery turned into pricey fireworks by ATACMS with cluster munitions.

https://x.com/yarotrof/status/1793942422138806460

Very interesting! I guess the S-400's vaunted ability to "shoot down" ballistic missiles is indeed a bit over-stated. The ATACMS apparently were M39 or M39A1 as these are the models with cluster munitions. Too bad we aren't making them any more. They are nice because they can "miss" the center of the target and still spread bomblets over the target area, as was seen in this video. I believe that in this conflict Patriots have shot down Iskanders (SS-26 variety), which is in the same class as ATACMS. In fairness it seems Russia is not deploying and using their acquisition radars as part of an IADS in Ukraine. That does reduce the warning time. OTOH, there may be reasons they are not.

This is indeed how the ATACMS is supposed to be used. High value targets that can be moved relatively easily (like the S-400) can be ephemeral. Locate it and hit it before they move it.