The Ukrainian Buk anti-aircraft system operator has discussed the peculiarities of using the equipment after modernization under the FrankenSAM program.

Air Force Command published an interview with Senior Lieutenant Stanislav, the system’s operator.

The 22-year-old junior officer is working on the eastern flank of the front, where he is tasked with protecting the ground forces from aerial threats. The soldiers use ambush tactics, restraining the capabilities of Russian tactical aviation.

Stanislav explains that air defense systems remain one of the priority targets for the Russians. In addition, with the integration of the American RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles into the anti-aircraft system, the range of the Buk’s operation has decreased, so they need to move closer to the front to be effective.

The operators’ track record includes a significant number of Russian cruise missiles and drones, but not airplanes. This is because Russian aircraft are focused on using guided bombs far from the front line.

“In fact, our crew is looking forward to seeing at least one enemy ‘dryer’ fly into the range of our system. We would like to record not only missiles and drones but also enemy aircraft. Although we have enough work to do…” the officer shares.

Modernization of Ukrainian Buk systems

The Ukrainian military decided to integrate somewhat outdated Western RIM-7 anti-aircraft missiles into the Soviet Buk-M1 systems due to the depletion of stocks of the original 9M38 anti-aircraft missiles.

The modernization project was developed jointly by American and Ukrainian engineers and first implemented in metal in the United States in November 2023. The upgrade included work on the radars of the 9A39 self-propelled launchers to ensure proper interaction with the new missiles and modification of the launch equipment for them.

According to Yuriy Ihnat, the Air Force spokesman at the time, this modernization limited the system’s potential due to the missiles’ lower performance.

“They [protect], albeit at a small radius. The Sea Sparrow missiles will be able to help protect critical infrastructure facilities in the first place,” Ihnat emphasized.

Indeed, the RIM-7 has much more modest capabilities: the missile is capable of hitting air targets at a distance of up to 20,000 meters and up to 15,000 meters in altitude. At the same time, the scarce 9M38s were capable of intercepting objects at a distance of up to 32,000 meters and an altitude of up to 20,000 meters.

As a result of the modernization, the ammunition carried by each gun has also been reduced: instead of four 9M38 missiles, they carry only three Sea Sparrow interceptors.