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| Can the Ukrainian MiG-29Integrated with the US AGM-88 HARM MissileDestroy the Russian S-400? |
International Military - It is known that the American AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile has been integrated with the Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet. In fact, the US missile was reported to have destroyed the S-400 system's lighting radar.
US defense officials praised Ukraine for successfully integrating the missile with their MiG-29. In August 2022, a senior US Defense official was asked how the missile was integrated with Soviet-era jets.
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Quoted from the Eurasian Times, he responded by saying, “they (Ukraine) have really managed to integrate it as something we determined would be technically feasible. And based on that determination of eligibility, we gave them this capability," he added.
In addition, there are claims from Russian and Ukrainian sources that the Ukrainian Air Force used AGM-88 missiles to destroy Russian Air Defense forces. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser and former deputy minister at the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, shares the video on September 6, 2022.
The video shows what he said was the aftermath of an AGM-88 missile hitting the Buk air defense system in Kherson. The air defense system shown in the video is reportedly the Buk-M2 system.
Meanwhile, the target that was destroyed was probably the 9A317 Transportation Erector Launcher and Radar (TELAR). The TELAR Buk-M2 consists of four 9A317 missiles and a NIIP 9S36 passive phased array engagement radar, which can track and illuminate multiple targets simultaneously.
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This radar should have attracted an AGM-88 anti-radiation missile, according to Gerashchenko's account of the incident. Even Russian media sources claim that the Ukrainian military has tried to use the AGM-88 HARM missile to destroy the lighting radar of the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system.
It also includes the Buk-M3 which is positioned to provide an air defense umbrella over Kherson and Nova Kakhovka. This claim appears to be based on images that allegedly show the remains of an AGM-88 missile in an apartment building in Kherson. Because there is no indication that the house was the target, and the presence of possible shrapnel holes in the missile remains suggest that it may have been intercepted.
Quoted from AF.mil, the AGM-88 HARM or high-speed anti-radiation missile. This missile is a tactical air-to-surface missile designed to locate and destroy enemy air defense systems equipped with radar.
The AGM-88 can detect, strike, and destroy targets with a minimum of crew input. The proportional guidance system that hones enemy radar emissions has a fixed antenna and a seeker head on the nose of the missile. Smokeless, solid propellant dual boost rocket motor propels the missile.
The F-16C is the only aircraft in the Air Force's current inventory to use the AGM-88. However, by being integrated into the MiG-29, the jet became one of them.