Slovakia will send Ukraine S-300 air defenses 'immediately' if NATO backfills its weapons

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: Washington Post

Slovakia’s defense minister said Thursday that his country is prepared to send long-range surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine “immediately” — provided that Western allies give them a “proper replacement” to avoid creating a security gap.

“The only strategic air defense system that we have in Slovakia is the S-300 system,” the defense minister, Jaroslav Nad’, said, referring to powerful Soviet-origin weapons that would enable the Ukrainian military to shoot down Russian warplanes flying several miles above the ground. Ukraine had a few before the invasion and has pleaded for more as Russian forces have intensified their bombardment of key cities.

Speaking in Bratislava, Slovakia’s capital, alongside U.S. defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, Nad’ intimated that, “Should there be a situation that we have a proper replacement — or we have a capability guaranteed for a certain period of time — then we will be willing to discuss” a equipping Ukraine with the air defenses it seeks.

When asked if the United States was prepared to send Slovakia replacements, such as Patriot missiles, Austin demurred. “These are things we will continue to work with all of our allies on and, certainly, this is not just a U.S. issue. It’s a NATO issue,” he said.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/slovakia-will-send-ukraine-s-300-air-defenses-immediately-if-nato-backfills-its-weapons/ar-AAVcDTW

[AllaN01Bear]

1. what ever happened to anti aircraft guns .(bofang guns ) ?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

2. Mostly gone the way of the B-17 bombers

Guns on the ground are ok for slow, low, propeller-driven airplanes. Not so useful against high-flying fast jets. That's where the faster rockets make sense. What's a bofang?

[pecosbob]

3. I think you mean the Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun

a World War Two era auto-cannon manufactured by Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors.

[AllaN01Bear]

4. that is the one .thank you.

[monkeyman1]

6. pick up rock's & throw at up um' -same thing !!

[AllaN01Bear]

12. tripple a or also known as pom pom and known as flack guns have been replaced by

systems like the patriot missile. the phalanx gun on ships is used also. but good on
Slovakia.

[TomSlick]

5. The S-300 is a Soviet/Russian system.

That probably means there are soldiers in the Ukrainian Army that can effectively operate it.

[monkeyman1]

7. thank you for that simplicity ! not being a smart butt !

[TomSlick]

13. I have it in me to be a smart butt but I try to keep it to myself.

I have been concerned about the learning curve for weapon systems being provided to Ukraine. Modern weapons require significant training. A sophisticated weapon is useless without a trained operator.

[monkeyman1]

14. very true !

when I was in the military , it is completely different now ! If people notice , Russian military stuff comes damn close to our stuff technology wise , ever noticed that ? aircraft,army,marines,navy,--- ever noticed that ?

[Evolve Dammit]

8. this seems pretty straight forward and easy right? Make it so #1. And thank you Slovakia.

[Sgent]

9. The only thing we have that is even sorta close

is a patriot missile battery -- and those are fixed (rather than mobile). We don't have anything like the S300 or S400. Our plan against air attacks is F-22 / F-35.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

10. The Patriot's not fixed

Where do you get that?

[Slammer]

15. backfill

Yeah, the main problem with backfilling the system is that the US doesn't have much to backfill it with.

The S300 is a "reach out and touch someone" weapon that protects a large area (50-75 mile range according to the exact model). It works against ballistic missiles or aircraft.

The Patriot is more of a "defend one specific patch of ground weapon" that works against ballistic missiles. (A maneuverable aircraft? Forget about it.) Three models of the Patriot are significantly less range than the S300. One has a comparable, maybe slightly better, range. But still, not against aircraft.

They might not accept backfilling with fighter aircraft, even if we offered those, because the operating expense is astronomically higher to train and operate pilots compared to operating a S300.

[Sapient Donkey]

11. Curious to see how/if they pull this off. These are not just a single vehicle

That quickly sneak in and be ready to engage/defend itself in a matter of minutes.