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Ukraine’s air force released footage of its Raven missile systems downing Russian drones.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
The system uses an air-to-air missile that the UK tweaked in four months to fire from a 6\u00d76 Supacat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
The UK says the Raven missile system has a success rate of 70% out of 400 engagements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Ukraine’s air force released footage on Wednesday of UK-made Raven air defenses striking Russian air targets in at least five instances.<\/p>\n
The video features a Ukrainian air defense crew discussing their experiences with the system, and their interviews are interspersed with clips of the missile soaring into the sky to destroy Russian drones.<\/p>\n
The Raven fires what was originally the British Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile, also known as the AIM-132, which is mainly equipped on the Royal Air Force’s Typhoon and F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, the UK’s defense ministry said in 2022 that it had transformed the missile into a version for Ukraine that could fire from a British 6\u00d76 HMT600 Supacat transport vehicle. At the time, it was touted as a key way for Ukraine to defend itself from Russian missile strikes.<\/p>\n The Asraam is particularly useful because it’s infrared-guided and locks onto its target once launched, even in poor weather. Ground crews can fire it and relocate quickly<\/a>, and they don’t need to maintain a line of sight with their target.<\/p>\n UK defense officials said in 2023 that their teams took roughly four months to make the missile ground-launched and to train Ukrainian crews to use the Raven.<\/p>\n However, in an official video published in May, Col. Olly Todd of the UK’s task force supporting Ukraine said the Raven “went from concept to delivery” within three months.<\/p>\n “They’ve conducted over 400 engagements, which understand with a success rate of over 70%,” Todd said.<\/p>\n The Supacats are fitted with missile mounts taken from decommissioned UK jets, such as the BAE Hawk, SEPECAT Jaguar, and Panavia Tornado. These are classes of fighter aircraft that were retired from combat over the last two decades.<\/p>\n Crews inside use a gamepad controller to identify targets on a screen and activate the missile’s infrared lock-on system.<\/p>\n