Russian forces have captured an intact guidance system from a long-range U.S.-made ATACMS missile and are studying the American military technology, Russia’s RIA state news agency said on Monday.
Video footage released by RIA showed an unidentified weapons expert, with his face concealed by a balaclava, examining what he said was a guidance system from an Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) weapon apparently shot down by Russian forces. Reuters could not verify the equipment shown in the video.
The expert is seen showing labels on the back of the missile’s GPS guidance system, which indicate it originated in a U.S. army store in Alabama. He explains that the captured hardware allows Russia to study how the missiles are controlled during flight.
Viktor Litovkin, a retired Russian colonel, told the online Lenta.ru news portal that Moscow would try to identify any weak spots and use the information it gleaned to improve its ability to shoot down ATACMS missiles.