Russian Forces are Running Dangerously Low on Counter-Battery Radars

U.S. Soldiers with Alpha Battery, 1–108th Field Artillery, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team fire an artillery piece during a training exercise at Fort Indiantown Gap. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Hayden Arnick. Public domain

Like a heavyweight boxing match, the Ukraine War has thrust artillery back into the spotlight as Russia and Ukraine face off in an artillery slugfest.

The boxing analogy doesn’t end at trading blows.

Whoever has the longest reach maintains a distinct advantage. Also, with the introduction of counter-battery fire, an artillery unit can be located and fired upon before their round even hits the ground. Speed matters.

Now, the UK Ministry of Defense is reporting that Russia may be down to precious few of their counter-battery radars — which allow them to rapidly locate Ukrainian gun lines.

But first, how does counter-battery fire work, and why is the radar component so important?

World War I saw the emergence of sound ranging for locating hostile artillery — they also introduced flash spotting and aerial reconnaissance — but using sound was the first instance of using math to triangulate the location of an enemy artillery unit.

Four sensor posts, consisting of at least a pair of microphones each, listen for the sound and then give friendly units a bearing (location) based on the differences between the time of arrival of the sound at each of the sensor posts.