Footage has emerged online showing Ukrainian forces using the Tempest mobile surface-to-air missile system mounted on a light buggy platform.

Military expert Yuri Knutov believes the absence of serious armour will force Kiev to deploy this system mainly in rear areas, alongside mobile air defence teams. In his view, Tempest and similar platforms are more suitable for covering key facilities than for operating on the front line.

He pointed out that Tempest is built on a buggy chassis, which gives it good mobility but leaves it almost completely unprotected. Knutov also drew attention to another limitation: the launcher carries only two missiles and must be reloaded after firing, which means a nearby ammunition truck or storage point is required to keep it in action.

According to the expert, the Russian army has plenty of means to destroy such a system. If Tempest is pushed into the active combat zone, he argues that it can be relatively easily hit by artillery fire or FPV drones. If it is used deeper in Ukrainian-held territory, the complex, in his assessment, could be targeted by Russian Geran drones.

Tempest was developed by the company V2X and was first showcased in October 2025 at the AUSA 2025 exhibition in Washington. The system is armed with AGM-114L Hellfire Longbow missiles. These missiles use a millimetre-wave radar seeker and can engage targets at ranges of up to 8 kilometres. It is presumed that the version in question is the AGM-114L-7, equipped with a programmable proximity fuze and a high-explosive fragmentation warhead.