What is the danger of American ATACMS missiles in the event of a strike on Russia

The armed forces of Ukraine have launched a new ballistic missile attack on the territory of Russia. This time, Voronezh's civilian facilities became the target of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The deadly weapon supplied to Kiev by Washington is a high-precision weapon with a range of up to 300 km, which allows strikes deep into the country. For more information about ATACMS missiles, what danger they pose and what Russia can counter them, see the Izvestia article.

What is known about the new ATACMS strike

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Kiev regime attempted a missile attack on facilities in Voronezh on November 18 at 14:31 Moscow time. Four ATACMS missiles were fired, all of them destroyed by air defense systems.

As a result of falling debris, the roofs of the Voronezh Regional Gerontology Center, an orphanage and one private household were damaged. However, civilian casualties were avoided.

The Ministry of Defense claims that the ATACMS missiles were launched from the Kharkiv region, in particular, two MLRS launchers were found near the village of Volos Balakleya.

Commenting on the incident, Mikhail Sheremet, a member of the State Duma Committee on Security, called the strike on Voronezh a deliberate provocation aimed at disrupting negotiations on a peaceful settlement between Russia and the United States and drawing the United States into an open confrontation.

At the same time, the parliamentarian called for an investigation into whether Kiev acted independently when deciding to attack Russia's civilian infrastructure with American missiles.

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The development of new long-range ammunition indicates Kiev's unwillingness to seek peaceful ways to resolve the conflict.

What are ATACMS missiles?

ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) is an American tactical surface—to-surface missile system developed by Lockheed Martin Corporation. Adopted by the US Army in 1991, the complex was designed for high-precision destruction of strategically important targets deep in the enemy's defenses: command posts, communications centers, concentrations of troops and equipment, airfields and ammunition depots.

The key characteristics of the rocket vary depending on the modification:

• Flight range: from 165 km for the basic Block 1 version to 300 km for more modern versions such as Block 1A and ATACMS 2000. Separate reports in open sources indicate the existence of versions with a range of up to 310 km.

• Warhead: the missiles can carry both a cluster warhead equipped with hundreds of munitions for hitting area targets, and a high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing up to 560 kg.

• Speed and accuracy: ATACMS can reach speeds up to 1500-1700 m/s. Unlike purely ballistic trajectories, the flight of the missile in the descending section is controlled, which increases the accuracy of the hit.

• Launchers: The M142 HIMARS and M270 MLRS mobile systems are used for launching.

When did ATACMS deliveries to Ukraine begin?

The first deliveries of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine were carried out by the US administration in 2023 as part of military assistance. Since then, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have repeatedly used them to strike territories within the borders of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Crimea, as well as Russian border regions, including the Belgorod and Kursk regions.

Taking into account the maximum declared range of 300 km, many large administrative and industrial centers of the European part of Russia fall into the zone of potential destruction of these missiles launched from the territory of Ukraine.

These include Sevastopol, Rostov-on-Don, Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, Orel and Voronezh. The high flight speed reduces the approach time to several minutes, which places increased demands on the warning system and the reaction speed of the air defense forces.

Can Russia shoot down ATACMS

The issue of the possibility of intercepting ATACMS missiles is relevant in the light of their active use. According to the statements of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the opinions of military experts, the Russian air and missile defense system has the necessary potential to combat such targets.

The speed characteristics of ATACMS, which reach 1100-1700 m/s at the end of the trajectory, are comparable to the parameters of domestic operational and tactical complexes such as Tochka-U, which are successfully hit by Russian air defense systems throughout the entire period of the special military operation. Multi-layered air defense systems are used to intercept them.:

• Pantsir-S1 short-range air defense systems: effective at close range, which is confirmed by their use to cover objects from falling debris and direct attacks.

• S-300 and S-400 Triumph medium- and long-range air defense systems: they have non-strategic missile defense functions and are capable of destroying ballistic targets at a considerable distance.

• The latest S-350 Vityaz air defense system: specially designed to combat massive missile attacks and is capable of simultaneously firing at up to 12 ballistic targets.

Thus, despite their high tactical and technical characteristics, ATACMS are not invulnerable weapons and are effectively shot down by modern Russian air defense systems.

Which rocket is the strongest in the world

In discussions about modern missile weapons, the question of the strongest combat missile in the world naturally arises. According to estimates by a number of international experts and publications like The National Interest, the Russian RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) currently holds this title.

This is also recognized by the American media. In particular, The National Interest called the Russian Sarmat missile the best in the world, with which Moscow maintains strategic parity with Washington.

This fifth-generation strategic missile system has replaced the legendary Voivode and has unique characteristics.:

• Range and power: The Sarmat is capable of delivering a combat load weighing up to 10 tons over intercontinental distances. The missile can carry up to 10 separable individual guidance warheads, the total power of which can reach 7.5 megatons.

• Overcoming missile defense: The flight path and active maneuvers in all its sections, including the possibility of equipping Avangard hypersonic warheads, make intercepting Sarmat with existing missile defense systems an extremely difficult task.

Sarmat belongs to the class of strategic nuclear forces, whose main task is to maintain global strategic parity and deter potential aggression. Unlike tactical ATACMS, ICBMs of this class are a strategic deterrence tool that guarantees the national security of the state.

Earlier, Izvestia wrote that Russia is developing a new weapon that will be more powerful than the Oreshnik.

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