Servicemen of the "Center" military group told about the work of the Buk-M2 SAM team

On February 9, servicemen of the Center group of troops told Izvestiya correspondent Alexander Safiulin about the combat operation of the Buk-M2 surface-to-air missile system.

The crew has only forty seconds to detect a target. During this time it has to manage to fix the object with the help of a radar station, transmit the information to the control center and strike.

"The Buk-M2 vehicle goes to a combat position, so they do this several times a day, changing including the points of operation, this means that perhaps they have already detected some target and it is time to destroy it," Safiulin commented.

Russian air defense (air defense) units have to build entire detection and fixation networks.

"All air defense means are arranged in a clear scheme to close the sky over our positions and units as effectively as possible. Each calculation works according to its own. Some destroy scouts, others planes and helicopters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU)," said Pavel Ivanov, deputy commander of the battery of the Center group of troops' SAM systems.

Buk-M2s are used to defeat various types of missiles. American ATACMS, British Storm Shadow and French Scalp are also in use.

"We have captured several targets and are already practicing on them one missile per target. A package of three units, three targets just flew, we worked on them," said Andrei Kuzmichev, senior operator of the Buk-M2 air defense complex of the Center group of forces.

Earlier, on January 1, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Buk-M2 air defense systems of the Dnepr group of troops destroyed a Ukrainian UAV in the Kakhovka area in the Kherson region. While on combat duty, a Buk-M2 SAM system detected and escorted an enemy aerial target. The artillerymen launched an anti-aircraft guided missile and hit the target, which was conducting aerial reconnaissance of the positions of the Russian Armed Forces troops.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of the aggravated situation in the region.

More topical videos and details about the situation in Donbass, see on Izvestia TV channel.