Prized Capture! Parts of Russia's Latest 'Barnaul-T' Air Defense System Land In Ukrainian Hands

In a major blow to the Russian side, Ukrainian troops have managed to capture parts of Russia's advanced air defense system, Barnaul-T. The fully automatic command and control system, also known by the nomenclature 9S932-1 and the acronym MRU-B, is being used by the Russians to strengthen their control over air space.

Images and footage going viral on social media show the Russian radar-equipped air defense command post vehicle, part of a larger system, with Ukrainian troops in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

According to a report by The Drive, a Ukrainian unit reportedly found the vehicle relatively intact along with other Russian vehicles and artillery pieces, in the town of Husarivka. Besides Barnaul-T, the Ukrainians also could lay their hands on a dedicated reloading vehicle for the TOS-1A thermobaric artillery rocket launch system.

Earlier, military trackers had reported spotting the Russian Barnaul-T 9S932-1 command posts with "Z" markings at Genichesk in Kherson oblast. The Ukrainian forces had managed to capture this particular component of the system earlier too. While parts of Barnaul-T were seized around March 12, another one was captured near the capital Kyiv on or about March 3. The vehicle was so undamaged that the Ukrainians immediately pressed it into its service.

The Barnaul-T first entered the Russian service in 2009 and reportedly reached operational capability by 2011. The Barnaul-T works together with various short-range air defense systems and can move around to work closely together with advancing ground forces. Armed with an integrated 1L122 radar, the 9S932-1s can locate and track low-altitude aerial targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), helicopters, and ground-attack aircraft.

Recently, a video showed Russian forces using a short-range surface-to-air missile system, supported by the Barnaul-T command post vehicle, to shoot down a relatively small Ukrainian octocopter-type unmanned aerial system.

Besides being a major operational loss for invading troops, the capture of the equipment that serves simultaneously as a sensor, command and control, and communications node, will be an intelligence gold mine for the West as they can glean valuable tech from it.

Testing the 1L122 radar would provide Western intelligence with a useful insight into the ability of Russia's short-range air defense networks. Besides, the data on this radar's specific signature could help in the development of weapons to counter them.

Not just the hardware, the software that runs the system is also valuable to NATO. The Drive report added that a vehicle like this could also contain coded identification friend or foe (IFF) data that Russian forces use to help avoid accidentally targeting friendly aircraft. This information would come in handy for electronic and cyber warfare.

Earlier, Ukraine may have managed to get its hands on one of Russia's most prized weapons, a module of Kremlin's advanced 1RL257 Krasukha-4 mobile electronic warfare system.