Are the fancy weapons we're sending to Ukraine really a "gamechanger"?

In addition to destroying command posts, bridges, ammo dumps, and other large, fixed targets, HiMARS has also busted up Russian artillery batteries, in some cases a minute after the Russians fired their rockets. U.S.-supplied technology has made this possible: A special radar detects a rocket being fired by a Russian artillery unit, transmits the unit’s latitude and longitude to a data-control network, which directs a particular HiMARS to fire a rocket at precisely that point.

One retired U.S. officer who has been advising the Ukrainians told me, “If Ukraine could do this [rapid counter-firing] more often, Russian [artillery] soldiers would be afraid to go near their guns.” For Ukraine to do this more often, they would need more HiMARS and more rockets for them to fire.

That said, it’s important to note that one new weapon rarely transforms the battlefield irreversibly. Enemies usually counter with a new weapon of their own or with a tactic that adapts to the new situation. The Russians are intensifying their attacks on Ukraine’s heavy artillery pieces—and they have a lot more rockets than Ukraine does. If they had the imagination to do so, the Russians could also disperse their ammunition dumps and place them farther away from the railroad tracks that transport the ammo to the front. (Then again, maybe not: imagination has never been the Russian army’s strong suit.)