Avenger air defense systems donated by the United States shoot down Russian cruise missiles in the skies over the Kyiv region.

The video footage was released by the press service of the 1129th Bila Tserkva Air Defence Missile Regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Ukrainian soldiers intercept Russian cruise missiles on their way to Ukraine with the help of American short-range AN/TWQ-1 Avenger air defense systems.

The footage shows a view from the “night” channel of the optical station of the system during the downing of a Russian target by a FIM-92 Stinger missile.

For such a system, Russian cruise missiles are a fairly easy target because of their low static altitude, as well as predictable flight direction and speed. This allows the operator to capture the target and fire a missile at it.

Besides, in the event of close contact, the unit is equipped with an aviation modification of the 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun with a doubled rate of fire (1200 rounds per minute).

Avenger defends Ukrainian skies

The systems transferred by the United States in March this year were first put on combat duty in early April, said Lieutenant General Serhiy Naiev, Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“Avenger air defense systems are already on combat duty in the Northern Operational Zone,” said Serhii Naiev.

It is known that in addition to working as part of air defense groups defending Ukrainian cities, at least some of the systems have been spotted on the front lines.

The use of relatively cheap and widespread missiles from the FIM-92 Stinger man-portable air defense system, which are massively supplied to Ukraine by Western partner countries, allows the air defense system to quickly integrate into Ukrainian logistics and be put on combat duty.

The latter make it possible to engage air targets at altitudes of up to 3.8 km and ranges of up to 5.5 km. Combined with a powerful optical station with night and thermal imaging channels, this allows the unit to operate effectively in any weather conditions and time of day.

The self-propelled air defense system is mounted on the chassis of an army HMMWV off-road vehicle. They are actively used by the Ukrainian military, and their repair is mastered by army mechanics.