The Ukrainians are using an American-made air-defense system that the US retired from service more than two decades ago to successfully shoot down Russian cruise missiles.
The MIM-23 Hawk is a medium-range, surface-to-air system that was first fielded in the 1960s and has long been considered obsolete, with militaries favoring more portable systems. But the hand-me-down weapons have found new life in Ukraine, proving they are still useful tools after all these years.
A Ukrainian soldier who operates the Hawk system, which stands for “Homing All the Way Killer,” said that although it’s not a new weapon, it is “effective in skilled hands.” He has more than two dozen kills to his name, including Russia’s Kh-59 cruise missiles and Iranian-made Shahed one-way attack drones.
The soldier, Oleksandr, was featured by the Ukrainian Air Force on Wednesday. In an interview, which was published to the AFU’s Telegram messaging app, he said Shahed drones are the most annoying to engage because they fly very slow, so its tiring to battle them over long periods of time.
Ukrainian Air Force
“‘Working with missiles is much easier, even when they are aimed at you,” Oleksandr said. “It was a little uncomfortable when three Kh-59 missiles, constantly changing altitude, flew right at us. But all the targets were captured and destroyed one by one.”
“The main secret is not even in the weapon we work on, but in the synchronous and coordinated work of the unit,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks. “We perfectly understand the risks and consequences if we do not hear or ignore each other.”
The Hawk system was deployed all around the world during its four decades in service with the US military, and it saw combat in the Middle East. By the 1990s, though, with the Cold War over, the aerial threat to American forces had changed, and the Hawk was retired and replaced with lower-altitude systems like the FIM-92 Stinger and Avenger. The MIM-104 Patriot was also available to meet other US air-defense needs.
Ukrainian Air Force
Though the US no longer use them, several countries still operate the Hawk and its multiple variants, including Spain, which first sent Ukraine a handful of launchers in October 2022. The Biden administration has since donated an unspecified number Hawk systems and munitions to Kyiv and has committed to procuring more for the country over the long term.
Ukrainian officials have routinely pressed the US and its NATO allies for more air-defense capabilities to battle the Russian threat. While the Hawk is an antiquated capability, it still helps plug crucial gaps in the sky.
The Hawk is not the only 1960s-era — and seemingly outdated — weapon to find successes in Ukraine. German-made Gepard cannons have also proven to be very effective at shooting down low-altitude Russian drones and cruise missiles.
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