How Ukrainians managed to create a rocket "Neptune", which sank the cruiser "Moscow"

Zakhar Popovich, an economist and activist of the Social Movement organization, writes about how this became possible.

According to him, the Ukrainian missile industry did not stop its work during the entire period of Ukraine's independence. And the engineering school that created Neptune was compiled at Luch Design Bureau for decades, starting from the 70s.

Our national pride is the Neptune rocket, created by the Luch Design Bureau, founded in 1965, under the leadership of Oleg Petrovich Korostelev, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and not by pseudo-experts from newly founded business schools. According to some people's deputies, the successful hit of our missiles in "Moscow" became possible precisely because the old specialists ("the last of the Mohicans of the Soviet defense industry") could insist on testing the missile, which made it possible to identify "artificial origin" and correct the settings and accurately hit purpose, says Popovich.

The economist emphasizes that in Ukraine there was still a powerful scientific, technical and educational potential. But its future is being questioned by short-sighted decisions on selective funding of education and science.

Unfortunately, in institutions such as the Ministry of Finance, figures still set the tone, who, perhaps because of their superficial education, limited neoclassical ideas about the economy or bureaucratic conformity, believe that if the state has little money, then the first thing You can save money - this is on education and science. Until recently, these gentlemen quite seriously taught us that Ukraine does not need such a powerful science. According to their recipes, we must build an agrarian superpower, and order all technological products (including weapons) abroad, because it is “economically more efficient,” says Popovich.

Now, according to the economist, everyone understands that with such an approach, if it were brought to its logical conclusion, Ukraine would no longer exist as an independent state.

So, you need to be well aware that if it were not for our own high-tech weapons and our own highly educated military and engineering personnel who withstood the blow of the first days of the war, then the supply of adequate heavy weapons to Ukraine would not even have begun. Therefore, no one will defend Ukraine if the Ukrainians themselves do not defend it first, Popovich is sure.

He emphasizes that the effectiveness of Ukrainian defense surprised many in the world.

Much has been written about the inadequate assessment by the Russian military of the socio-political situation in Ukraine and the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and that, while trying to attack Ukraine from all sides at once, the Russians were unable to concentrate enough forces in any of the directions to ensure a multiple advantage and break defense of the Armed Forces. But there are things that cannot be explained even by these obvious miscalculations in the planning of the invasion, says Popovich.

One of them, according to him, is the survivability and effectiveness of the Ukrainian air defense system.

Some Western experts point out with genuine amazement that the old Soviet air defense systems turn out to be very effective , at least when used by the Ukrainians. According to some estimates, the Ukrainian Armed Forces set records for the effectiveness of the use of these Soviet systems, as well as weapons systems coming from Western partners, the expert says.

Part of the answer, he said, may lie in the fact that Ukrainians are using all these means more "creatively" in conjunction with more efficient and modern Western communications systems.

But, whatever one may say, it turns out that the Ukrainians demonstrate the ability to very effective and "creative" use of sophisticated technology. And there can be only one explanation for this: Ukraine retains an unexpectedly high scientific, technical and educational potential for such a poor country . Despite the fact that almost all the governments of independent Ukraine "saving on science", which led to a significant reduction in its (the number of researchers decreased by more than six times), not all former researchers left Ukraine, and many of their children received a quality education and stayed. in Ukraine, he notes.

The economist is convinced that even young Ukrainian soldiers and officers have relatively better mathematical and technical training than fighters and field commanders in Syria or Afghanistan.

And they were able to get such training because Ukraine still has a powerful school of fundamental natural and engineering sciences , and the system of mass higher and secondary education is still functioning. There are still dozens of NASU institutes and universities that were involved several decades ago in the development of new materials, control systems and other aspects of intercontinental missiles, aircraft, aircraft carriers, radars, etc., the expert says.

He recalls that in the early 1990s, Ukraine was the only post-Soviet country, with the exception of Russia, that had a universal scientific and technical potential.

That is, scientific, engineering and industrial capacities in all key technological areas. Much of this has been lost. But today's war has proved that far from everything is lost. Ukraine turned out to be able not only to effectively and integrated use various complex weapons systems, but also to produce its own systems, including such as the Stugna ATGM and others, the economist emphasizes.

According to Popovich, it was the scientific and technical potential of Ukraine, together with Western assistance, that became the foundation on which the Armed Forces of Ukraine were able to withstand the first wave of Russian invasion.

The future of Ukraine as an independent state will depend on whether we can rebuild, preserve and develop this scientific, technical and industrial potential. The government of Ukraine should stop cutting spending on education and science, and as soon as the active phase of hostilities is completed, develop a strategic plan for their cardinal increase and attraction of additional resources to the field of high-tech developments , make this a national development priority!, the expert emphasizes.