A special purpose unit of the National Guard of Ukraine, Lasar’s Group, has destroyed another high-value Russian military asset. Drone crews from the unit eliminated a 1K148 Yastreb‑AV counter‑battery radar deep behind the line of contact in Luhansk Oblast.
Value and role: radar designed to counter artillery
The estimated cost of the 1K148 Yastreb‑AV counter‑battery radar is about $50 million. The system is designed to detect enemy artillery firing positions. It only recently entered service with the Russian military after completing tests in late 2021 or early 2022.
Counter-battery radars track the flight of rockets or artillery shells and reconstruct their trajectory using several data points. This allows operators to determine both the firing position and the projectile's impact point.
System technology: automated trajectory tracking
The radar complex uses phased-array antenna technology to automatically track the trajectory of incoming projectiles and calculate the exact coordinates of enemy artillery.
The Yastreb-AV system is mounted on the BAZ‑6910‑025 military truck chassis, with a large antenna module installed at the rear of the four-axle vehicle, Militarnyi reports.
Operation and destruction: Lasar’s Group tracked the target
The operation was conducted in cooperation with the duty command unit of the Regional Electronic Intelligence Center “North.” They provided information about the radar’s deployment area.
After receiving the intelligence, Lasar’s Group operators located the complex's exact position and deployed heavy strike drones.
Following the first successful hit, Russian forces attempted to move the equipment and save it. Ukrainian operators tracked the movement — one pilot even landed a drone directly on the radar vehicle, allowing them to monitor its route.
Subsequent strikes ultimately destroyed the radar system.
