Another issue for 2025 and onwards is that we're seeing datalinks proliferate to the ground user.
One of the big reasons Ukraine's offensive slowed down was because of the KA-52 Black Shark fleet; specifically the newer model -- Ka-52M which has the LMUR (ЛМУР -- Легкая многоцелевая управляемая ракета) Legkaya Mnogotselevaya Upravlyayemaya Raketa, lit. 'Light Multipurpose Guided Rocket'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LMUR
The LMUR is a big boy -- 100 kg and a 25 kg warhead (versus Hellfire's 50 kg and 9 kg warhead); but what makes it so dangerous is that it's the first real "digital/datalinked" weapon the Russians have and it has an extremely long range of 14.5 km.
LMUR has two modes:
Mode 1: The target is marked by the operator before launch, and the carrier helicopter can turn away directly after the missile launch -- essentially "fire and forget" Hellfire logic.
But what's new is Mode 2.
Mode 2: The missile is launched by the Ka-52M without on-board target lock. The LMUR flies towards a point selected by the operator; with GPS guidance and transmits what it's seeker sees back to the launching platform. The operator can then look at what the LMUR sees and select a target (or change it) while the missile is flying towards it.
LMUR is the only Russian ATGM capable of this -- and this Mode 2 is the only one in which it reaches the 14.5 km range.
In Ukraine, the Russians have used UAS Drones to spot enemy targets, with the target location/information being passed on to nearby Ka-52Ms who launch their LMURs into the blue (for them). This is extremely effective, because the Ka-52M can destroy targets without exposing themselves personally to Ukranian air defenses and LMUR's 14+ km range means they can stay out of range of a large portion of Ukranian air defenses.
Ukraine now has received an ATGM that operates upon the same "datalink" principles:
https://www.armyrecognition.com/defe...o_ukraine.html
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On November 9, Défense & Sécurité Internationale posted a tweet broadcasting a short speech by Lionel Royer-Perreaut, a member of the French National Assembly, during a hearing of the Defense Commission dedicated to the French military assistance to Ukraine. A delivery so far unnoticed, he confirmed the supply of Akeron MP ATGMs, among other weapon systems consisting mainly of Mistral air defense missiles, CAESAR self-propelled howitzers and TRF1 155mm towed howitzers.
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Akeron MP operates much like LMUR -- Mode 1 (Fire & Forget) or Mode 2 (Post-Launch Targeting) -- so while an individual Akeron ATGM operator may not be able to see a target; he can be told via other methods that there's a target, and launch into the blind and target after launch.
Re: What happens in 2025?
Re: What happens in 2025?
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