After being sacked as commander of Russia’s 58th Combined Arms Army (58 CAA) in Ukraine, General-Major Ivan Popov claimed that one of his key complaints had been about the lack of counter battery provision.
Russian ground forces survivability relies on effectively detecting Ukrainian artillery and striking against it, often with its force’s own artillery. A key component of this approach is counter-battery radars, which allow commanders to rapidly locate enemy gun lines.
Russia is suffering from a worsening shortage of counter-battery radars, especially its modern ZOOPARK-1M. Only a handful of the originally deployed ZOOPARK fleet are likely to remain operational in Ukraine. Open-source footage showed another ZOOPARK being destroyed near the 58 CAA’s area in early July 2023. The priority Popov apparently gave to this problem highlights the continued centrality of artillery in the war.
The UK intel update perfectly lines up with the daily Russian losses reported by Ukraine. For weeks now we see 2 digits artillery/MLRS destroyed on the Russian side. A few videos also showed the use of BONUS/SMART rounds against Russian artillery.
That’s where reconnaissance skills and tech beats quantity.
Let’s hope there is no easy way for Russia to get those radar components into the country.