Separatists positioned Strela-10 anti-aircraft close to MH17 area at July 16
The separatists starting early July were in possession of at least a single Strela-10 anti-aircraft weapon.
Ukriane Censor.net reported about a Strela-10 seen on a traffic webcam in Luhansk at July 3.
This mobile launcher can reach a target at an altitude of up to 3.500 meters with a horizontal range of max 5.0 km.
At July 10 2014 Lifenews published a video of a Strela-10 near Donetsk airport. The video with can be seen here.
At July 11 2015 Dutch newspaper NRC mentioned the Strela-10 in a very good article.
More reports of Strela-10 here and here.
Also a report of the Strela-10 here. Here a report of the Strela-1o seen in Snizhne. Here report on Strela at July 16 as well.
A video posted at vKontakte shows such a Strela-10 on the move in the evening of July 15 around 22:00. The Strela-10 was part of a big separatists convoy travelling East from Donetsk to Snizhne. Part of this convoy was filmed by local residents in Shakhtersk. The video includes a tank, 2 BTR, a Strela-10, three D-30 towed artillery, and numerous trucks and cars before it ends.
At July 16 the Andrei Lysenko, spokesperson of the Ukrainian Defense Minister, confirmed the separatists indeed had a Strela-10. According Lysenko this was proof Russia supplied weapons to the separatists.
A Strela-10 can be seen in taken on Donetsk at an unknown data.
found an interesting video made by Russian newsstation Lifenews. The video shows a Strela-10 parked somewhere between Pervomais’kyi and Stepanivka. The Lifenews article was published at July 16.
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Lifenews 16 july interview with Strelkov is well known. This is no discovery.
Obviously the commander didn’t think hiding the Strela was that important.
I wonder if that Strela was captured from UA or on vacation from Russia?
Photo 99
„Pro-Russian separatists gesture from inside a CAPTURED 9K35 ‘Strela-10’at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Donetsk city. 10 July, 2014.
Photo credit: Maxim Zmeyev / Reuters
http://armamentresearch.com/Uploads/Research%20Report%20No.%203%20-%20Raising%20Red%20Flags.pdf
Same photo is here: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-strelkov-idUSKBN0FF2BX20140710 .
So the rebels made no secret of their Strela-10’s. They said too that they used a Strela-10 to shoot down an AN-26 military transport plane at low altitude on 14 July.
Getting back to the armamentresearch PDF, there’s also some interesting text above that image, but about a different missile:
“Air defence systems documented in the conflict include the 9K33 Osa (Оса; ‘Wasp’) and the 9K35 Strela-10 (Стрела; ‘Arrow’), first documented by ARES in July 2014 (Karpa, 2014). In optimal conditions, the basic model of 9K33 is capable of engaging targets with its 9M33 series missiles at ranges up to 15 km, and a maximum altitude of 12,000 m (FAS, 2000). The 9K35 fires the 9M37 series of missiles and has a maximum range of 5 kilometres, and a maximum altitude of 3,500 metres.”
That’s news to me that the 9K33 Osa ‘Wasp’ (also called the SA-8 Gecko), with 9M33 missiles, was in use in Ukraine and was capable of reaching the altitude of MH17.
Brendan:
Wikipedia is your friend.
“Engagement range for the early versions is approximately 2–9 km (1.3-5.6 miles) and engagement altitudes of between 50–5000 m (164-16,400 ft). The 9M33M2 “Osa-A” missile extends the ranges out to 1500-10000m (1-6.2 miles) and engagement altitudes to 25–5000 m (82-16,400 ft). The 9M33M3 missile greatly enhances the altitude engagement envelope to 10–12000 m (33-42,500 ft), and as such are also able to fly further (about 15 km/9 miles) but the system is not able to engage targets at longer ranges, due to other factors such as the radar tracking of the missiles. The system is designed for use primarily against jet aircraft and helicopters in any kind of weather.”
It could be described as a short range/high altitude system. Warhead is 15 kg.
The article also notes the following about command radar systems used to guide OSA operators:
“P-40 (“Long Track”) – E band early warning radar (also used by the SA-4 and SA-6, range 175 km/108 miles), mounted on a tracked vehicle (a modified AT-T).
“P-15 (“Flat Face A”) or P-19 (“Flat Face B”) or P-15M(2) (“Squat Eye”) – 380 kW C band target acquisition radar (also used by the SA-3 and SA-6, range 250 km/155 miles), mounted on a ZiL-131 truck.
“PRV-9 or PRV-16 (“Thin Skin”) – E band height finding radar (also used by the SA-4 and SA-6, range 240 km/148 miles), mounted on a KrAZ-255B truck.”
The missiles are noted as HE-Fragment warheads. Ukraine does not have the longest range missiles according to the article.
Andrew, That report is incorrect then to say that the basic model of 9K33 is capable of a range of 15km and altitude of 12,000 m.
The only other surface to air missile I know of that might possibly be capable of reaching MH17 at 10km altitude is the SA-6 Kub, the predecessor of the BUK and similar in many ways. Wikipedia says its max altitude is 8km but I’ve read elsewhere that it’s 11km.
Interesting also that Strelkov was filmed so close to the suspected BUK launch position on the day before MH17 shootdown. Strelkov might be also eyewitness of the launch. Perhaps also LifeNews was there.