Ukrainian forces took out another one of Russia’s best air defense systems

On February 5th, the Defense Forces of Ukraine announced that a Russian Buk M3 air defense system was destroyed by a single unmanned aerial vehicle from Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade. A video of the attack was published alongside the announcement. 

“This is an example of bad karma in action,” the Defense Forces of Ukraine wrote on X. “A Russian Buk-M3 air defense system was designed to destroy aerial vehicles. Then, it invaded Ukraine. Afterward, a Ukrainian UAV destroyed the system.”

Photo Credit: X @DefenceU

The footage was difficult to make out thanks to Russian electronic warfare systems on the Buk M3. However, the video clearly shows the aftermath of a Ukrainian UAV drone slamming into the Russian system. However, it is unclear if the Buk M3 was destroyed. 

Photo Credit: X @DefenceU

According to the Kyiv Independent, the Buk M3 is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system that is self-propelled. It is a modernized and upgraded version of an air defense system that was first developed in the 1970s. 

“The latest version — the Buk-M3 — is manufactured by Russia's Almaz-Antey defense company, and can reportedly track and engage up to 36 targets simultaneously,” the Kyiv Independent explained. 

Photo Credit: X @DefenceU

“The Buk is designed to target planes, helicopters, cruise missiles, and drones.” The Kyiv independent added. The incident comes after a slew of other attacks on Buk M3 systems in recent months. 

Photo Credit: X @DefenceU

In October 2024, the Ukrainian General Staff reported that drone operators took out a Buk-M3 during a night attack from the 24th to the 25th according to Ukrainska Pravda. Another Buk-M3 was destroyed during an attack on October 21st.

Photo Credit: Telegram @usf_army

On September 23rd, the 413th Separate Unmanned Systems Battalion claimed that its drone operators located and then destroyed a 9K317M Buk-M3. 

Combat footage released by the Ukrainian unit showed the attack on the Russian Buk-M3 and revealed that soldiers used rocket artillery to strike and eliminate the powerful Russian air defense system in Kursk, Russia.

The 413th Separate Unmanned Systems Battalion worked in cooperation with the 78th Airborne Assault Regiment to target—and then attack—the Russian air defense system. 

“Kursk. We are clearing the sky of parasites. Buk-M3,” the 413th Separate Unmanned Systems Battalion reported on Telegram alongside the drone footage the battalion posted according to a translation from Militarnyi. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Mil.ru, CC BY 4.0

Militarnyi also noted that the “Buk-M3 is the most modern version” of Russia’s Buk family of self-propelled medium-range surface-to-air missile launchers. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Nickel Nitride, Own Work, CC0

“It uses missiles with active radar homing, which has significantly increased its effectiveness on the battlefield and performs not only air defense, but also missile defense,” Militarnyi explained. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Leonidl, Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Newsweek also reported on the video footage and noted that the Buk-M3 can use precision-guided munitions to intercept ballistic missiles and other air targets at a range of up to 65 kilometers (or 40 miles).

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Yuriy Lapitskiy, CC BY-SA 2.0

The footage showed the discovery of two Russian vehicles near a treeline in the Kursk region; they were later identified to be two different models of the Buk missile system.

Photo Credit: Telegram @raid_413

Militarnyi reported that one of the vehicles was identified as a 9A316M TEL while the other was a 9K317M TELAR, the missile system targeted and attacked in the footage. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Vitaly V. Kuzmin, CC BY-SA 4.0

“One peculiarity of the Buk-M3 system is that it has two types of launchers: a TELAR equipped with detection and targeting radar and six missiles and a TEL that does not have its own radar but has dual ammunition,” Militarnyi noted. 

The two missile systems appear to have been discovered at some point during the day since the video shows slightly darker scenes as it proceeds and the M3-Buk is attacked. However, that could be due to the quality of the video. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @raid_413

Several scenes in the footage were edited together showing the positions of the Russian vehicles, which appeared to be enclosed in a field with two treelines to their sides.

Photo Credit: Telegram @raid_413

The footage identified one of the two missile systems and displayed a description of the vehicle with a picture of Buk-M3. The video did not identify the other missile system. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @raid_413

Little happens in the thirty-eight-second video clip until it reaches its end. One Russian vehicle fired a missile, which may have been fired to prevent the attack that hit the other system shortly after the first system launched its surface-to-air missile. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @raid_413

The attack showed the tell-tale signs of a High Mobility Rocket Artillery Strike. However, the 413th Separate Unmanned Systems Battalion did not confirm this detail in its report. Militarnyi noted the Buk-M3 was “almost directly hit by a GMLRS rocket.” 

Photo Credit: Telegram @raid_413

“Militarnyi also noted that the quality of the video did not allow it to “determine whether the self-propelled vehicle was hit or destroyed.”

Photo Credit: Telegram @raid_413

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported that the Buk-M3 was destroyed by Ukrainian forces when it published the video on its X account following the successful attack. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @raid_413

“Something went wrong with the Russian Buk M3 air defense system. The Ukrainian warriors destroyed it,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s post stated. 

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Photo Credit: Telegram @raid_413