The Russian general, who has taken over as chairman of the General Staff in his country, explained Poland’s motives behind its plan to purchase 500 units of American high-precision HIMARS missiles.
Major General Yuri Baluyevsky, former chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in 2004-2008, believed that Poland would like these missiles to replace conventional artillery, which also reduces the role of attack aircraft.
In his new book, the Russian general wrote: “We are already seeing certain trends, and this is manifested in the decision of Poland to immediately acquire 500 high-precision American ground-based missile systems GMLRs, GMLRs ER and ATACMS, as well as in Independent Missiles (Pasm) It cannot be ruled out that such a complex of high-precision, long-range ground weapons, provided that it is equipped with a sufficient number of high-precision missiles, as well as reconnaissance and appropriate means of target designation, is intended to replace conventional artillery, which is now actually assigned only an auxiliary role, and significantly reducing the role of attack aircraft.
At the same time, the general noted that each infantry battalion can have a battery of high-precision missile systems and carry out new forms of ground combat operations and close fire support, including on a scale unprecedented for units and subunits of the tactical level.
And the former chief of the Russian General Staff pointed out that “the widespread use of these weapons from ground bases and aircraft carriers in the future can change the forms and methods of conducting ground combat operations, create a kind of dense precision-guided munition, and lead to the complete disappearance of armored vehicles and artillery in their traditional form: tanks, IFVs, and rifles simply won’t survive heavy use of precision-guided munitions, and it will become nearly impossible for tanks to move out of their main weapon range.
Source: RIA Novosti