Russian Artillery ‘Losing Its Fizz’; Ukraine Decimates Moscow’s Force Multiplier Zoopark-1M Counter-Battery Radars

The Russian military seems to have lost several hard-to-replace counter-battery radar systems that have been instrumental in locating and destroying Ukrainian artillery units, according to a recent intelligence assessment by the UK Ministry of Defense (UK MoD).

On March 23, Ukrainian special operations forces released a video showing a Russian Zoopark-1M counter-battery radar being destroyed in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

The UK MoD said that efforts by both the Ukrainian and Russian forces to neutralize their opponents’ radars had been a constant element of the conflict. It noted that these systems are relatively few in number but are a significant force multiplier, as they allow battlefield commanders to locate and strike enemy artillery rapidly.

Counter-battery radars detect and track incoming projectiles and, based on their trajectories, calculate their point of origin, so if the rockets can alter their courses in such a way as to confuse the counter-battery radars, then it is indeed possible to prevent precise retaliatory strikes.

However, it is not just the trajectory of rockets but also the sound generated when rockets are launched that the counter-battery systems use to determine the location of enemy launchers.

#Ukraine: A valuable and potent Russian 1L261 radar vehicle of the 1L260 Zoopark-1M counter-battery radar complex was damaged by the Ukrainian Army in #Donetsk Oblast.

The radar was located by Ukrainian SSO using the new Shark reconnaissance UAV. pic.twitter.com/vEbzxBRaPo

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) March 23, 2023