Military Watch: 

Ukrainian HIMARS Missile Stockpile Destroyed in Russian Airstrike

Eastern Europe and Central Asia , Missile and Space

Military Watch Magazine Editorial Staff

July-1st-2024

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Su-34 Strike Fighters and ATACMS Launch From HIMARS System

A Russian air strike on the village of Matveyevka in the Zaporozhye Region successfully destroyed a warehouse with munitions for the HIMARS rocket artillery and missile system. The warehouse reportedly contained both rocket artillery and ATACMS short range ballistic missiles, both of which can be launched by the system. 

A large convoy of ambulances reportedly headed towards the affected area after the explosion. The targeting of another ammunition and military equipment stockpile was reported shortly afterwards in the nearby Kamennoye settlement. Both strikes were first reported on June 29.

Ukrainian forces have increasingly struggled to use precision guided assets against Russian frontline positions due to effective use of electronic warfare to jam their guidance systems, which appears to have increased their propensity to use systems such as ATACMS for strikes on strategic fixed targets deeper behind Russian lines which lack comparable protection to frontline forces. 

A notable example was an ATACMS missile strike on the NIP-16 Deep Space Communications site in Vitino on the Crimean Peninsula in the final week of June, and a strike on a Crimean beach shortly afterwards that caused significant civilian casualties. 

Use of these systems has been very heavily facilitated by the presence of American military advisors on the ground and by access to a network of hundreds of NATO satellites which provide targeting data among other roles.