Germany decided to transfer to Kiev the most accurate shells in the world

Alexander Sychev

Berlin had a lot to weigh before giving the Ukrainian armed forces even a fraction of what they asked for from Germany. And the fact that the requested weapons are new, and Berlin really does not want them to fall into the hands of the Russians, as happened, according to the Bild newspaper, with the PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer, is not even the most important of worries. Berlin really does not want to be drawn into a conflict, the degree of which is rising all the time.

"Cobra" recognizes 40 firing points in two minutes

The Cobra radar (Counter Battery Radar) for the armed forces of Germany, France and the UK was developed by the French corporation Thales and the American Airbus Defense and Space and Lockheed Martin. The radar entered service in 2005. The Bundeswehr has only 19 Cobras in stock. In May, Kiev asked to transfer five of them.

The creators presented the Cobra radar as the world's most advanced weapon location system, consisting of a high-performance phased array radar, a data processing unit and a command, control and communication system. It is installed on a truck that develops a speed of 60 kilometers per hour and travels over 500 kilometers at one gas station.

The radar allows you to detect and calculate the location of mortars, rocket launchers and artillery batteries within a radius of one hundred kilometers. Cobra is able to detect and classify up to 40 enemy firing points in two minutes. Three or four crew members turn the station into a combat position in 10 minutes.

The most accurate projectile in the world

With accurate target data provided by the German Cobra, Vulcano artillery shells are of particular importance. By the way, they can be fired from German self-propelled howitzers PzH 2000, which are already at the disposal of Ukrainian nationalists.

The projectile was developed by the Italian company Leonardo and the German Diehl BGT Defense.

This family of sub-caliber ammunition consists of an unguided BER (Ballistic Extended Range) projectile and a guided GLR (Guided Long Range).

The ammunition is very expensive - it is literally stuffed, like a Christmas goose, with various electronics that allow the projectile to use satellite navigation, laser and infrared sensors for targeting, including moving ones. A semi-active laser guidance sensor requires target illumination.

The maximum firing range of the Vulcano 155 GLR ammunition reaches 70 kilometers. Hit accuracy is less than five meters.

The projectile is equipped with tungsten rings, which, during the explosion, break up into many fragments and hit people and weakly protected targets. The detonation of the explosive is carried out by a radio frequency programmable fuse. Undermining can be programmed to a certain height to defeat the enemy’s manpower, to detonate when the target touches, and also some time after the impact. The ammunition can also be programmed with a final angle of attack up to 90 degrees.

The projectile is considered the most accurate in the world, but it has not yet been used in combat conditions. Efficiency was confirmed only in test firing, where Vulcano did not meet any opposition. For testing in combat conditions, the projectile is sent to Ukraine. This explains the small number of shells. In addition, it is easier to control where they are.

Finally, permission to send was also given for vertical-launched short-range (up to 25 kilometers) and medium-range (up to 40 kilometers) IRIS-T SL missiles. It was developed by companies from six countries. The American AIM-9 Sidewinder air-launched missile was taken as the basis, but for some reason it turned out to be very similar in design and layout to the Japanese Type 04 AAM-5.

Almost three-meter rocket has four wings and elevators, each of which is equipped with its own electric drive. Starting weight - about 87 kilograms. High-explosive fragmentation warhead weighs more than 11 kilograms.

The missile corrects its flight according to the GPS signal, and the infrared homing head is switched on right next to the target.

The number of weapons sent is small. From the very beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Germany did not want to get too involved in the conflict. Berlin was playing for time, offering to finance other people's supplies, and now it is clearly seeking to reduce the amount of assistance provided.