An ATACMS M39 ballistic missile strike with a cluster warhead would be ineffective if it targeted armored vehicles or fortifications.
Forbes reported this with reference to U.S. Army major James Hutton.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the airfields of the armed forces of the russian armed forces in Berdiansk and Luhansk, which led to the destruction of more than ten helicopters. However, according to the publication, the М39 are not omnipotent and will not be able to destroy armored fighting vehicles due to the cluster combat unit. The missile has 950 submunitions, the size of a grenade. If they do not get into a vulnerable part of a tank, they are unlikely to be able to cause serious damage.
M39 is a two-ton ballistic missile that has a range of up to 165 km with an inertial guidance system. The ammunition was manufactured in the 1990s. The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden sent an undisclosed number of ballistic missiles to Ukraine, probably after checking the technical condition of solid fuel.
ATACMS with cluster warhead М74 are ideal for attacking unarmored targets: trucks, ammunition, radars, vehicles with simple armor. However, according to U.S. Army major James Hutton, there is no point in spending ATACMS to strike a tank regiment, since the power of submunitions will not be enough.
М74 will be able to damage the optics, or, with luck, penetrate the engine-transmission department to damage the engine. However, stopping the armored assault will be very difficult. The United States has already announced that it will supply ATACMS to Ukraine without risking its own combat capability. According to the author, this may mean that the Armed Forces will receive older versions of missiles: М39 that are already being transmitted, and М48. М48 is a ballistic missile with a unitary warhead that can blow up fortifications or other protected enemy targets.
As earlier reported, ATACMS ballistic missiles, which the United States transferred to Ukraine, should be used exclusively within the sovereign territory of the Ukrainian state.
On October 17, the Ukrainian Defense Forces attacked airports in Berdiansk and Luhansk, which had been occupied by the russian army.
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