AvtoVzglyad reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are said to have used a significant number of ground combat vehicles in a recent raid on the Belgorod area - Russia's border area, which is protected by a dense anti-incident system, mines and many other technical equipment.
One of the notable armored vehicles used by Ukraine is the UR-77 Meteorit long-range mine-breaking vehicle - an remaining weapon from the Soviet era, currently also on the Russian military payroll.
The UR-77 was born in 1978, developed based on the chassis of the 2S1 Carnation self-propelled artillery. Instead of the 122mm artillery tower as the original version, the UR-77 was equipped with a specialized missile launcher for mine clearance.
The UR-77 operated by launching a missile carrying a rubber tube filled with explosives, 90m long, 70mm in diameter. The bullet flew in a parabol orbit with a maximum range of 500m. When flying, it pulls a cable directly onto the vehicle to determine the exact distance where the explosives will fall.
When it reaches the designated location, the vehicle will reverse slightly to stretch and straighten the explosives pipe on the ground, then detlate. The blast created a safety corridor about 6m wide across the mine, destroying all the mines within a range of about 3m on each side.
After the explosion, the ground floor left a trough about 0.5m deep and many bomb holes - a sign that helped the forces behind easily orient even at night. With more than 700 kg of explosives, not to mention the surrounding blasting mines, the UR-77 creates a strong visual effect, giving it the nickname "Gorynych snake".
Before unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) became popular as they are today, UR-77 was used for direct attack when approaching enemy positions. In this case, the driver will remove the cable so that the explosives can fly directly to the target within a range of about 1 km.
However, the success of the UR-77 in attacks on strong defensive positions of Russia was not highly appreciated. According to AvtoVzglyad, a Ukrainian Union-77 deployed in Belgorod was disabled by the Russian military using a UAV shortly after fire.
Based on a video circulating on Telegram channels, another UR-77 was also completely destroyed by a Russian UAV after being hit on the side. This car has not even had time to launch a missile.
AvtoVzglyad concluded that the UR-77 Meteorit, as well as most traditional equipment such as tanks, armored vehicles for transporting troops or infantry fighting vehicles, are gradually becoming one-time equipment in the context of modern battlefields flooded with UAVs.
