Originally Posted by
petit plateau
The Moskva ought to have been able to handle the scenario, at least up until impact. Providing air defence for a task force over a large area is exactly what she was designed for. From the very limited information we have the observed (poor) performance seems most odd. I suspect there is a lot of the story that has yet to come out.
Suggesting that the Moskva should not have been emitting is like suggesting that any & all of the other S300 batteries should not be emitting in case they too become targets. That's not the way Integrated Air Defence Systems (IADS) work. Some things have to be emitters and take their chances. I don't think the Russians have done anything with their AEW assets on the south and east sides, so far I have only seen reports of them on the north side, often operating out of Belarus.
For Ukraine this is a very good result.
Good points. Running a Top Pair/Top Steer/Top Dome radar continuously on a boat, or a high screen/billboard or similar on the turf, would be a magnet for an ARM which the Russians have in some number, apparently enough of those to fire them off boresight without an emitter evident, but anyway, there is enough RF out there to be radiating when you have an expected need. Not big on helping the other side. If the RFS "Ronson" was a radar picket ship, then that too was an unfortunate choice. It was the flagship of the fleet, back in the day, radar pickets if required were not usually the capital ship of the fleet. Maybe tactics have changed, but it is a great thing to have an emitter sitting on the top of the tub you want to splash. The Ropucha's have Air/Surface search radars... maybe they are worth more than the Ronson.