By Chris Covert
The Ukrainian Army has received four advanced counterbattery radar systems and 10 countermortar radar systems from the United States military, according to Russian language news accounts.
The systems, used at the battalion level by US troops is among the most advanced of its type in the world. The systems enables the operator to pinpoint the location of firing artillery and mortars, thus to enable friendly artillery to hit and destroy firing artillery, according to a story posted on the korrespondent.net news website.
Four each AN/PQ-36 Firefinder radar systems and 10 each AN/TPQ-49 radar systems arrived at the Boryspil International Airport on Saturday. According to the report, an additional total of USD $500 million in direct aid is to be transferred to Ukraine from the United States.
According to data supplied by the manufacturer, Thales Raytheon, the Firefinder radar system can locate several firing locations simultaneously. The system is said to be compact and mobile.
The second system is a dedicated radar for finding mortar fire. According to data by Global Security.org, the AN/TPQ-49 Lightweight Counter Mortar Radar can "track multiple rounds fired from separate locations within a 315 square kilometer surveillance area."
The AN/TPQ-49's main advantage is that it can be set up quickly, and has been recently modified for more rugged use.
The war between Ukraine and Russian speaking rebels has been primarily an artillery war, with artillery exchanges being a feature of life in Donetsk and Lugansk almost daily for nearly two years.
Fighting continues in Donetsk
Ukrainian artillery has struck rebel targets in Donetsk more than 600 times in the past two days according to data supplied by the Donetsk ministry of defense.
On Thursday evening, Ukrainian artillery hit rebel positions in Trudovskoy, the Donetsk airport, the Donetsk city Volvo Center, at Spartak, Zhabichevo and Panteleymonovka. Ukrainian artillery also hit locations in Zaitsevo, which is north of Gorlovka. All told 165 82mm and 120mm mortars were fired on the locations.
In southern Donetsk, near Mariupol, Ukrainian artillery was reported striking Dokuchaevsk and Sahanka. A rebel media report on Thursday said that five residential buildings were damaged by Ukrainian artillery fire in Dokuchaevsk.
On Friday evening, according to data supplied by the Donetsk ministry of defense, Ukrainian artillery hammered rebel positions another 341 times, striking Yasinovataya, between Donetsk city and Gorlovka, in addition to the locations from the previous day. As with the previous day, 82mm and 120mm mortar fire was sued by the Ukrainians.
An unidentified 79 year old man was wounded by Ukrainian antitank rocket fire in Zaitsevo.
On Thursday an unidentified 27 year old man was wounded by Ukrainian antitank rocket and mortar fire in Dokuchaevsk. In Yasinovataya, also on Thursday, an unidentified 45 year old man was wounded by Ukrainian shelling.
According to Ukrainian reports which appeared in lb.ua, rebel artillery struck Ukrainian positions in Donetsk a total of 28 times, hitting targets in Verhnetoretskoe, Troitskoye and Avdievka. Weapons used in the attacks were said to be 122mm artillery and 120mm mortars.
In southern Donetsk, rebel artillery struck Ukrainian targets in Talakovke, Novotroitsk and Berezovo, using 120mm mortars.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues.
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