HIMARS hits a rare Russian Yastreb-AV radar in the Donetsk region

The Ukrainian military has destroyed the latest Russian 1K148 Yastreb-AV counter-battery radar, which was delivered to the aggressor country’s military in small quantities.

Stratcom posted the video of the 14th Regiment’s aerial reconnaissance unit, which shows the damage to this system.

A drone detected a rare Russian counter-battery radar in the Donetsk region, near the town of Zuhres, observed it, and then adjusted the strike.

Judging by the footage released, the Ukrainian military used a high-precision munition to destroy the Yastreb-AV.

The strike was likely carried out by a U.S. M142 HIMARS rocket system. The video shows the warhead of what appears to be a GMLRS rocket exploding over the radar, hitting it with thousands of tungsten balls.

As a result of the hit, Russia’s expensive counter-battery radar was at least inoperational and needs to be repaired.

This is not the first time that the Defense Forces have destroyed the Russian Yastreb-AV counter-battery radar.

This January, the military demonstrated the destruction of such a counter-battery radar in the Donetsk region, also with HIMARS.

In addition, the Ukrainian Defense Forces also destroyed the Russian 1K148 system in the Kherson region.

Yastreb-AV

This system has recently been delivered to the Russian military, and tests were completed only in late 2021 or early 2022. The characteristics of Yastreb-AV are not disclosed.

The Russians have only stated that the radar system with phased array antennas is capable of automatically tracking the trajectory of shells fired by enemy artillery, determining the exact coordinates of positions. However, the exact characteristics are not disclosed.

The 1K148 Yastreb-AV system is mounted on a four-axle BAZ-6910-025 chassis with a radar in the rear.

It should be noted that combating enemy artillery is currently one of the main tasks on the battlefield. Artillery reconnaissance systems determine the coordinates of enemy firepower (self-propelled artillery systems, cannon, or MLRS) by the trajectory of a projectile or missile, which helps artillerymen conduct counter-battery combat or use other means of destruction.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine use HIMARS to engage important enemy targets with high precision. The targets include self-propelled howitzers, MLRS, radars, and air defense systems of various types.