The American Vampire short-range mobile air defense system is hunting Russian Shaheds.
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That being said, this setup does this very successfully. One launched missile finds its target. A video of the shooting down of the Iranian-Russian attack drone Shahed-136 with the help of a Vampire in the sky of the Odessa region on March 11, Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Yuri Mysyagin, published on Telegram.
As you know, Vampire (Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment) is a relatively new American development, because in 2022 testing of this air defense system was still ongoing. L3Harris stated that this mobile system is suitable for any pickup truck or vehicle with a cargo bed.
The Vampire launchers are designed to carry four small 70mm APKWS missiles. The WESCAM MX-10 RSTA station, which combines a television and thermal imaging camera, as well as a laser illumination system and a laser range finder, is responsible for detecting enemy targets and pointing missiles at them.
The anti-aircraft missile system can be operated by one person, simultaneously a driver, while most other systems require a trained crew of several military personnel. The main task of the Vampire is to destroy drones, which is why it is called a “drone hunter.”
The cost of one APKWS missile is about 40 thousand dollars. per unit, which makes its use quite effective in terms of price-result ratio.
Let us remind you that the Russian kamikaze drone “Shahed” got stuck in the propeller of a windmill in the Nikolaev region. The wreckage of the drone was dangerous, but sappers dismantled it from a height of 55 m, which is equivalent to an 18-story building.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.