These weapons would really help Ukraine in the EU corruption scandal: Eva Kaili remains in prison

There is no such thing as a philosopher’s stone. Phrases like these are the first to come to mind when you ask military experts and arms industry representatives in Washington: How can the West quickly end Russia’s offensive war against Ukraine?

In fact, no one wants to talk about the one miracle weapon that will bring the turning point. Because there is no single technology that decides a war. War is a dynamic event that requires constant adjustment of strategies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long demanded tanks, warplanes and longer-range missiles from the West. But Germany and the US are still hesitating. They argue with fears of an escalation, concerns about logistics, and the soldiers’ lack of training.

There are many weapons that have not yet been publicly discussed. Among them are some that sometimes sound unspectacular, but would be incredibly effective. An American armaments expert spoke to t-online in Washington about possible systems. His demand: he must not be identifiable. The industry is extremely secretive.

The airspace is crucial

According to him, the biggest problem for Ukraine remains the defense of the airspace. From the outset, the Russian military recognized critical infrastructure as an Achilles’ heel. To this day, the Russian military destroys power plant after power plant and bombs other civilian targets. The number of victims is growing. Cruel helpers are cheap drones from Iran.

A demand from Kiev reads: Israel must provide the globally unique protective shield developed there, which also includes the well-known “Iron Dome” system.” The Israeli government, however, fears possible consequences from Russia – and rejects it.

A system from Germany could not only protect Ukrainian infrastructure, residential areas or the government district of Kiev. Compared to the cheap Iranian kamikaze drones, it would also be a significantly cheaper alternative than the very expensive Iris-T system that Germany has developed with other countries. Ammunition for this would be in abundance. And war is always a cost-benefit trade-off.

The name of the German air defense system is Mantis (an acronym for Modular, Automatic and Network Capable Targeting and Interception System). It serves the so-called field camp protection against all kinds of air attacks, from missiles to drones to artillery shells. It was developed for Bundeswehr bases in Afghanistan. Mantis was used in Mali.

The system is manufactured by Rheinmetall Air Defense. Former Development Minister Dirk Niebel (FDP) would be an obvious contact for the traffic light coalition as Rheinmetall’s modern-day armaments lobbyist.

US phalanx system against Russian attacks

The Americans have a similar system that could help Ukraine. Like Mantis, Phalanx CIWS is a so-called close-range defense system. In particular, it is used on warships to destroy approaching missiles in a burst of fire. With Phalanx, the Americans shot down Iranian missiles aimed at their own embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

As early as July 2022, several Republican US senators wrote in a letter demanding that such phalanx systems be immediately made available to Ukraine. However, nothing has happened so far. At the same time, Mantis and Phalanx could really drive the Russian president to despair.

The Ukrainian MacGyver Army

However, because decisions from Western supporters are still a long time coming, the Ukrainians often have to improvise. Because war also means learning under pressure. The Ukraine is so successful that weapons experts, military and politicians are equally surprised.

The American defense community describes it as the MacGyverism phenomenon. It is a reference to an American television series from the 1980s, in which action hero Angus MacGyver repeatedly outwits his enemies with cunning, improvisation and a Swiss army knife.

A digital picture of the situation for everyone

“What started with Ukrainian Molotov mothers leads to very effective inventions that also benefit the West,” says the man who is professionally involved in these developments. The constituency is offered valuable insights into the necessary personal preparations for future conflicts. The arms industry has also been learning new things every day since February 24, 2022.

So Ukraine came up with a kind of Uber app for the war. Instead of civilian taxis, Russian military positions are displayed on a map with the software. The program is fed with data that any Ukrainian can enter. If you see Russian tanks, enter them. Everyone else knows about it and can hide or attack. A collective picture of the situation emerges from a deluge of digital information.

Military around the world have long had their teeth cut over something like this. “Synthesizing disparate data reliably is incredibly difficult,” they say. But in Ukraine it has to work somehow. Because there is no time.

Another tinker: Ukraine is buying up masses of cheap propeller drones that can be used to deliver Amazon packages. The Ukrainians fly such drones, equipped with hand grenades, over the battlefield. They are thrown off by means of an unlocking mechanism that has been tinkered with. Sometimes they meet, sometimes they don’t. The mass makes the effectiveness. Recently, a Russian radio was also captured with such a drone.

Necessity and ingenuity of the Ukrainians have now even led to Western weapon systems being combined with Soviet weapon systems. It’s like combining Lego bricks with Playmobil pieces without everything falling apart. Old Soviet Buks, a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile system, is now loaded with US Sea Sparrow missiles. An undisclosed number was therefore included in the most recent US aid package from early January.

The armaments expert from Washington also has an insider tip at the end of the conversation. The UK government has denied media reports of plans to supply US Apache attack helicopters to Ukraine. But that draws attention to a German product that has hitherto received mostly negative media coverage. It’s the Tiger attack helicopter.

“The problems he causes for the Bundeswehr can be easily remedied,” says the Washington man. In any case, they would be valuable to Ukraine, along with Apaches, as long as the West does not want to supply fighter jets. “So far no one has asked about the tiger, although it would bring Ukraine a lot,” says the expert.

In any case, Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the military training area in Bergen, Lower Saxony, last October and followed the exercises of the Tiger attack helicopter in low flight.