An image of a piece of debris is currently fueling speculation about Ukraine’s arsenal. Are these advanced missiles used against Russia?
Ukraine could have far more powerful systems to disable enemy air defenses than was previously known. A piece of debris has surfaced on Twitter, and appears to have come from an “ADM-160B MALD” missile.
Currently, the US Army uses different versions of this US defense system. MALD is an acronym that stands for Miniature Air-Launched Decoy.
In principle, it is a cruise missile that can be launched from an aircraft like a missile and looks like an enemy aircraft or cruise missile to enemy air defense systems. While the enemy is busy fighting the harmless and cheap MALD, the attacker can slip past real planes or attack the anti-aircraft defenses directly.
The ADM-160B is a larger and heavier version of the original decoy. It should have a range of more than 900 kilometers and be able to independently control more than 250 GPS coordinates.
Storm Shadow cruise missile attack?
Now at least one MALD decoy is said to have been used in a Ukrainian missile attack on the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk. The image is said to show a similar piece of debris labeled with an easily readable ADM-160B fingerprint. be seen.
Rumor has it that the attack on Luhansk was carried out using “Storm Shadow” cruise missiles, which may have been supplied by Britain. It can also be launched from aircraft and has stealth technology intended to prevent or complicate detection.
If these attacks were accompanied by MALD missiles, this would allow Ukraine to attack well-secured targets far from the front line.
