Why the ballistics alarm sometimes goes off after arrival: Advisor to the Minister of Defense Sergey "Flash" Beskrestnov explains
All information about ballistic missile launches or preparations for them comes to Ukraine from partners.
All information about ballistic missile launches or preparations for them comes to Ukraine from partners.
According to Defense Minister Sergei «Flash» Beskrestnov, an advisor, no one in Ukraine knows — and should not know — exactly how the partners obtain this data, but it is not difficult to guess that the main source is satellite surveillance of launch points and recording of the launch itself.
The missile, he said, reaches Kyiv in 2-4 minutes, so the time to react is extremely limited. Any failure in the information transmission chain causes a delay — and since no system can be perfect, such failures occur, and the alarm signal is sometimes delayed relative to the moment of arrival, adds Flash.
The expert says that the opposite situation also happens — there is an alarm, but the launch never takes place. This is explained by the fact that satellites record the activity on the launchers that precedes the launch, and not the launch itself. Because of this, an alarm can be declared based on preparatory actions, although the rocket launch itself, for some reason, does not take place in the end.
As an example, he cites repeated cases of false alarms due to the Oreshnik missile: reconnaissance satellites visually recorded activity at the launcher, but whether the launch itself would take place remained unknown in advance.
Ballistic Physics and the S-400. Why Explosions Come Before Sirens
Ballistic Physics and the S-400. Why Explosions Come Before Sirens
