Post like this make me seriously worry about the sort of mental images that people have about the how war is conducted.
It seems me that you have still this decades old idea of SAM system like something that have to be in the open before the attack so to allow the attacking aircraft to organize themselves in order to attack them in a timely, ordinate and fashionably manners.
Do you have an idea about what “pop up” mean?
It’s almost from the end of the first gulf war but for what SU/Russia is concerned almost from the eighties, that the AD system are organized to stay mostly covered and deploy only after the enemy attack is begun so to be able to engage them at the moment they seem best to inflict damages.
Attack formation would not so know from what direction and in what moment the SAM systems would enter battle, the only system that would operate continuosly would be some very long range AEW radar systems like the NEBO, situated hundreds of kilometers inside enemy territory (P.S.and a lot of passive systems also) while also very long range system like S-400 and S-300 V would start hidden and pop up during the attack.
Now, we have had the proof of how a similar tactics work with even updates versions of of missiles from the sixties, let’s imagine with actual systems developed ab initio with this tactics in mind
So, excuse me, don’t just get angry with me but reading back what you, in all intellectual honesty i’m sure, have written is for certain verses even funny.
That idea of a SAM system that not only sit happily in the open waiting for the enemy to organize itself into the best manner to bomb it but that once the attack starts try to manoeuvre to outflank the enemy aircraft is just soo absurd… :highly_amused:
Yes , i do understand what pop up mean. What iam trying to say is that, SAM , even the mobiles one are still ground assets. They can move but no where as fast as an aircraft.So once their location is discovered their only course of action is to shoot down anything launched at them ( unlike an aircraft which always can descent below radar horizon and runaways).This make a big different because that mean any SAM transmitted or launch their missiles will become target .Second point is that strike packet doesnot really care about SAM. Their main objectives most of the time are often important infrastructures like air base, command center , Hydroelectric dam ..etc. If there is no short range SAM defense those location, the important structure will be ruined by cruise missiles and bomb pretty quickly.In other words, SAM are defensive weapon, you can hide them to keep them safe but then they would not be doing their job .So it could be expected that at least there are many short range defense system near target location.
Long range radar system like NEBO will also be attacked by loads of cruise missiles given their massive size and lack of mobility. So it could be expected that there are many short range SAM defending them too.
Overall, the SAM location is not as unexpected as you would think.It is basically a hide and seek game where one side have much lesser mobility.
There is jamming to deny communication too.
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