A Russian Tor-M2 air defense system, valued at $25 million, was destroyed by Ukrainian forces in a precision strike using a U.S.-supplied Switchblade loitering munition.
This was reported by Ukraine’s 413th Separate Raid Drone Battalion on February 18.
High-Tech Drone Strike
The Tor-M2 was detected by Ukraine’s Shadow unit while actively scanning the battlefield. Once its coordinates were confirmed, Ukraine’s drone battalion launched a Switchblade drone to take it out.
A video of the strike shows the instant shutdown of the system’s radar, while the crew desperately tried to move the vehicle before it was completely disabled.
According to news reports, this is yet another loss for Russia’s highly mobile and rapid-response Tor-M2 system, which has been a top priority target for Ukraine.
With over 65 units destroyed since the start of the war, Ukraine’s drone operators and artillery forces have systematically chipped away at one of Russia’s most important short-range air defense systems.
The Tor-M2
Designed to detect and engage aerial threats, the Tor-M2 can track targets up to 16 kilometers away and engage them at altitudes of 10 kilometers. Depending on the variant, it carries either eight 9M331 missiles or sixteen 9M338K missiles.
Despite its advanced radar and rapid-fire capabilities, the system has proven vulnerable to Ukraine’s growing arsenal of long-range and kamikaze drones.
This latest strike follows another recent Ukrainian drone attack that took out a North Korean M-1978 "Koksan" self-propelled artillery system.
You can watch the video here.
