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Military


Air Defense Force

The Air Defense Forces of Ukraine is a type of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that existed in 1992-2004. The air force's consolidation with the air defense force was completed in 2004-2005. Air defense forces occupy an important place in the armed forces of Ukraine. They perform a number of tasks to establish cooperation with the air force, ground forces, naval forces and border troops of Ukraine.

Distinct from the Air Defense Force, tha air defense forces of the Ground Forces are organizationally included in the combined military formations, parts and units. They are one of the most important means of combating the air enemy. These troops consist of anti-aircraft missile, anti-aircraft missile and artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, radio engineering units and units. Air defense troops are designed to: destroy the aerial enemy at all possible altitudes of his actions in any weather, both during the day and at night, in conditions of active radio countermeasures; preventing the enemy from conducting aerial reconnaissance; fight against airborne troops and airborne troops on their flight routes and during landing; destruction of fire support helicopters operating from ambushes; timely notification of the troops about the actions of the air enemy; covering of troop groups, control points, airfields.

They are armed with mobile anti-aircraft missile and artillery systems, radar equipment for target detection and automated fire control systems. Anti-aircraft missile complexes (systems) and anti-aircraft artillery of the SV Air Defense Forces have high fire efficiency and maneuverability. They are able to destroy the aerial enemy in the entire height range of his possible actions. Depending on the organizational affiliation, such Army units and subdivisions may be subordinated to a corps or brigade. Air defense equipment of the Ground Forces is used in close cooperation with fighter aircraft.

On July 6, Ukraine celebrates the Day of Air Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The holiday was founded in 1997, on July 2 in Kyiv, the second president of Ukraine, Leonid Danylovych Kuchma, "in view of the merits of the Air Defense Forces of Ukraine in ensuring the state's defense capability", signed Decree No. 602/97 "On the Day of Air Defense Forces". By the Decree of the President of Ukraine in 1997, the first Sunday of August was celebrated annually as the Air Defense Day.

Air defense forces are a type of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and are designed to warn of an attack by an air-space enemy, protect important administrative and political centers and cover industrial and economic areas, groups of the Armed Forces, important military and other objects from air strikes. In peacetime, the "guardians of the sky" of Ukraine carry out combat duty to protect the country's state border in the airspace and control the flights of aircraft across the state border, the total length of which with 9 countries of the world is 7,698 kilometers.

About 2,500 servicemen of the Air Defense Forces were on round-the-clock combat duty in Ukraine. More than 400 aircraft are tracked by radar during the day, and about 12-13 thousand aircraft are tracked by radar in a month.

The Air Defense of Ukraine fulfils responsible tasks of protection of the Ukraine's sovereignty and the inviolability of its borders and air space, has well specified functions in peacetime and in case of war and is intended to prevent the beginning of air and missile strikes, to intercept enemy aircraft, to defend the most important administrative, political and industrial centers, concentration of Army and Navy units, other state and military objects against enemy air and cruise missile strikes.

The Air Defense Force of Ukraine was developed at the basis of formations, large units ad units, deployed in Ukraine at the moment of its independence's proclamation. The Air Defense Force is designed for notification about air strike and missile attack, enemy aviation counter-warfare, defense of most important administrative, political and economic centers and regions of the state, troops concentrations, naval units, other state and military facilities against enemy aviation and cruise missiles.

Air Defense Missile Troops are designed to support jointly with other Services Air Defense of Ukraine. They are equipped with various types of antiaircraft missile (antiaircraft artillery) complexes featuring high possibilities to injure sophisticated assets of air strike in the wide range of altitudes and its flight speeds in different weathers and times of a day.

Radio-technical Troops are designed to directly execute airspace radio-location reconnaissance and support warfare of missile troops and fighter aviation. They are equipped with sophisticated radars, which allow any time of a year and a day, independently from weather conditions and counter-radar warfare, to detect assets of air attack at long ranges and at all altitudes, to locate their exact coordinates, as well as support targeting for missile troops and operate aviation's guidance.

Special troops, units, establishments and units of technical and logistic support, military educational establishments are aimed at supporting warfare of large units, units and services units.

One fact that differ UKR Air Defense from others is its 24 hours duty function to defend UKR state border in peacetime. Every day almost 3,000 servicemen, representing more than 120 military specialties. Air Defense units cover state border ranging up to 7,000 km, monitor various agencies aircraft flights in state's airspace as well as border-crossing with 9 neighboring states. Radio-technical units, command posts' teams monitored more than 400 000 aircraft, detected more than 100 border violators during latest 3,5 years. About 3 500 times duty forces were alerted to execute missions assigned and to prevent possible airspace violations.

The main feature of The Air Defence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: even in peacetime it carries out combat tasks of Ukraine's airspace border protection - 24-hour combat duty. Every day 3000 servicemen of more than 120 specialties carry out combat duty. Units and elements of the Air Defence protect the state border of distance of over 7000 km, observe and check flights of planes of all national state structures and during state border crossing through the borders of 9 neighboring states.

Every month radar troops, crews of command posts of the Air Defence track more than 9000 aircraft. The crews on combat duty are always ready to prevent any airspace violations and to render assistance for aircraft in case of emergency. The structure of The Air Defence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was created and developed taking into account all experience gained before, coming from the geopolitical position of Ukraine, its military doctrine orientation, existing power and means of the Air Defence and according to the technical and economical abilities.

The integrated system of the Air Defence, which has been created using all power and means of all branches of the Armed Forces, is effective and economical but a strict centralized control system is required. The transfer of main military activity to aerospace, direct relation of results of military conflict on the fact who dominates in aerospace stipulate the essential increase of role of means of air attack and air defense. The confirmation of above mentioned fact is modern military conflicts, operations conducted by multinational forces in Gulf Bay and also operation of combined NATO armed forces in Yugoslavia.

The modern air defense must be multifunctional, capable to fight with not only aircraft and helicopters but cruise missiles and other unmanned means. The effectiveness of combat application of different powers and means of the Air Defence must be achieved by the usage of combat capabilities taking into consideration the specified cooperation and centralized control. Thus, in general the achievement of high effectiveness of The Air Defence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine under today's economical conditions is possible due to creation of the combined air defense system of the respective scale which shall have unified concept, assigned tasks and performance characteristics of its means.

The combined air defense system shall use effective means of reconnaissance, destruction means, electronic countermeasures and automatic control systems. The foundation of such air defense system shall be aviation and anti-aircraft missile means disposed in ranges and altitudes of target destruction.




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