MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. Russian air defense forces destroyed four unmanned aerial vehicles and intercepted four HIMARS rockets in the past 24 hours in their special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Saturday.

"In the past 24 hours, the Russian air defense capabilities destroyed four Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the areas of the settlements of Tsentralnoye in the Nikolayev Region, Suligovka, Shestakovo and Dmitrovka in the Kharkov Region. In addition, they shot down four HIMARS rockets in the area of Novaya Kakhovka in the Kherson Region," the spokesman said.

In all, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 267 Ukrainian combat aircraft, 148 helicopters, 1,736 unmanned aerial vehicles, 365 surface-to-air missile systems, 4,297 tanks and other combat armored vehicles, 798 multiple rocket launchers, 3,295 field artillery guns and mortars and 4,858 special military motor vehicles since the beginning of their special military operation in Ukraine, the general said.

HIMARS rocket system

The M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) is a highly mobile multiple launch rocket system developed by the US-based defense technology corporation, Lockheed Martin. The launcher with six tubes of 227mm rockets or one ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) ballistic missile is mounted on a five-tonne six-wheel chassis of FMTV (Family of Medium Tactical Vehicle) transporters.

The launcher fires over 20 types of munitions with a strike range of 30 km to 80 km (for rockets) and 300 km and more (for a tactical missile). The system has been accepted for service in some countries, including the United States, Singapore, the UAE, Canada, Poland, Romania and Jordan.