POlsha will transfer Soviet S-60 complexes and ammunition developed in the 1940s to Ukraine Poland will transfer Soviet S-60s developed in the 1940s to Ukraine and ammunition for them. Experts interviewed by RBC note that the complex is extremely outdated and is likely to be used against drones and for fire support
S-60 air defense systems
The new package of assistance to Ukraine from Poland will include anti-aircraft artillery systems (ZAC) S-60 with 70 thousand ammunition, according to a joint statement of ten NATO member countries.
“Poland’s new assistance to Ukraine consists of S-60 anti-aircraft artillery systems with 70 thousand rounds of ammunition,” the report says. The number of transmitted orders is being specified.
Warsaw also announced its readiness to transfer to Ukraine a company of Leopard 2 tanks with 1 thousand units of ammunition.
The S-60 is a Soviet anti-aircraft artillery complex developed in the mid-1940s by the Research Institute-58. The prototype was presented in 1946, and in January 1950 the gun was adopted by the USSR.
ZAK weighing 4.8 tons is mounted on a four-wheeled chassis, has a caliber of 57 mm and is capable of shooting at 6km. The practical rate of fire of the C-60 is 70 rounds per minute. In total, more than 5 thousand such guns were produced, after the collapse of the USSR, Poland had more than 200 C-60s.
Military expert, senior researcher at the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies Yuri Lyamin, in a conversation with RBC, noted that the S-60 is an old development, which at one time was considered a good weapon. “It was supplied to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. But now it is, of course, catastrophically outdated,” he pointed out.
In his opinion, in Ukraine, the S-60 is likely to be used for shooting at drones or as a means of fire support. “In recent years, they have been used in Syria as a means of fire support: they were put on a truck and fired at enemy positions with direct fire. Their charge is quite powerful, but against modern aircraft it is a very outdated complex. The main problem is the old guidance systems, so it is difficult to hit high-speed and especially high-altitude targets. And their range is not very high,” Lyamin added.
In turn, Vasily Kashin, director of the HSE Center for Integrated European and International Studies, told RBC that the training of specialists to work with this system was stopped decades ago in all countries, including Russia. “For its intended purpose, the S-60 gun and its Chinese copies are used in some developing countries, and then on an ever smaller scale. As a means of air defense, they are practically not used. At the same time, in Ukraine, C-60 guns raised from stocks are widely used as a means of fire support, mounted on trucks,” the expert explained.
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He also called questionable attempts to use the S-60 as an air defense and noted that the necessary equipment for this, most likely, has not been preserved.
In addition to the Soviet complexes, Denmark announced its intention to transfer French self-propelled artillery units CAESAR to Ukraine, the Associated Press reports. At the same time, Britain promised to transfer to Kiev 600 Brimstone missiles, Starstreak air defense missiles and up to 100 thousand different artillery ammunition, and Latvia – two Mi-8 helicopters, as well as dozens of L-70 anti-aircraft guns with tens of thousands of ammunition.
“We commit ourselves to collectively seek to provide [Ukraine] with unprecedented supplies, including main battle tanks, heavy artillery, air defense equipment, ammunition and infantry fighting vehicles,” the NATO countries stressed in a joint statement.
The Russian authorities claim that the West contributes to the prolongation of the conflict by supplying weapons. The Kremlin stressed that the goals of the special operation will be fulfilled, despite the “pumping” of Ukraine with Western weapons. Russia will consider any shipments with Western weapons in Ukraine to be a legitimate target, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned.
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