The United Kingdom is preparing a new delivery for the Ukrainian Defense Forces - an upgraded Raven air defense system will arrive on the front line in the coming weeks, along with a batch of dummy missiles, The Times reports, citing Royal Marines Colonel Ollie Todd.
The Raven system is based on the old ASRAAM air-to-air missiles, no longer in use by the RAF due to their shelf life, and has been integrated into a ground-based platform mounted on Supacat vehicles, using components from Hawk, Jaguar and Tornado aircraft.
The combat effectiveness of the system has already been proven: about 400 launches have been carried out in Ukraine, of which about 70% are accurate. Raven has proven effective against Iranian Shahed drones and cruise missiles used by Russia to attack Ukrainian cities.
According to Todd, the first samples of this system were used to protect the government quarter in Kyiv, in particular, the residence of President Volodymyr Zelensky. The new batch will include not only combat units, but also special dummies with thermal radiation, which will make it difficult for the enemy to detect real air defense systems.
Raven is launched remotely — from a remote control — which allows you to reduce risks for operating personnel and quickly respond to threats from the air.
The delivery of this system was a continuation of international support for Ukraine: Germany recently also transferred missiles to the IRIS-T air defense systems, which successfully protect the skies over Ukrainian cities.
