By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
The most recent Ukraine support Pentagon package contains a number of critical weapons systems likely to be of great relevance to Ukraine’s effort to shut-down Russia’s air and missile attacks throughout the ongoing Counteroffensive.
One key weapon included in the 45th-aid package of its kind is specifically geared toward air defense, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters, according to a published DoD transcript.
There are multiple variants of the AIM-9 Sidewinder including land and air-launched missiles able to track and destroy moving targets, something of great importance to the ongoing counter-air effort given the absence of air superiority.
The AIM-9 Sidewinder, in existence now for decades, has been upgraded to great effect numerous times over the years. While primarily thought of as an air-launched weapon firing from aircraft such as the F-35 and F-22,, the Army showed as far back as 2015 that the AIM-9 Sidewinder can be effectively launched from a ground-based Multi-Mission Launcher.
The AIM-9M is a key weapon on its way to Ukraine for ground-launched air defense, an ability of great significance given that neither Russia or Ukraine operates with air superiority. This means Ukrainian forces will now operate with an improved ability to track and destroy Russian helicopters, drones and even some lower-flying fighter jets with precision targeting.
The AIM-9M is described as an improved variant of the legacy AIM-9L, with better infrared countermeasures discrimination and a “low-smoke” motor to reduce the visual signature of the weapon. Operating with improved countermeasures is quite significant as such technologies could help ensure a guided missile can continue to its target even in a high-threat “jamming” environment, something quite realistic given Russia’s known abilities with EW. EW weapons, released from drones, aircraft and even ground weapons are designed to find a “line-of-bearing” and disable, jam, clutter or interrupt the RF and infrared guidance systems built into a weapon such as the AIM-9M. One potential countermeasure method is called frequency hopping, meaning a weapon’s guidance can be programmed through software to change or “hop” frequencies to maintain its precision targeting flight trajectory in the event that its initial frequency is jammed.
The AIM-9M may have advanced guidance system similar to the AIM-9X air-to-air Sidewinder which is built to fire at what’s called “off-boresight,” meaning the missile can re-route and change course in flight to hit a non-aligned or “linear” target above, behind or on the side of the attacking airplane. Should Ukraine’s AIM-9Ms operate with an ability to counter EW jamming and, if needed, adjust course in flight to hit moving or relocating targets, then it will indeed provide a measurable advantage. Off-boresight attack, enabled with the F-35 through a helmet-mounted display, is enabled by technology called Imaging infrared focal plane array able to send out electromagnetic “pings” in multiple directions at one time. This means targets don’t need to be directly in front of or within line-of sight for aircraft to attack.
Without air superiority, Ukraine can rely upon ground-fired weapons such as the AIM-9M to neutralize, slow-down or in some cases destroy Russian air attacks. Ground-launched air defenses such as the AIM-9M could prove critical to Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive as it could help defend reclaimed territory from Russian drone and helicopter attacks seeking to destroy Ukrainian forces advancing into and “holding” previously held Russian territory.
One critical comment about air superiority was made recently by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley who explained that there are multiple ways to impact or control the airspace, with “ground-air-defense” being a key impact area. This is particularly relevant in Ukraine, given that there is as of yet no air superiority.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University
