Direct proof of use
The clearest Ukrainian-side record is the Slovak S-300PMU transfer after Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion. A U.S. Defense Department report dated April 8, 2022 said Slovakia was supplying an S-300 air-defense system to Ukraine, and Oryx's later inventory of Slovak military aid separately listed the delivered S-300PMU radar package as including one 5N66M Clam Shell, one 5N63S Flap Lid B, and one 36D6 Tin Shield.
The Russian-side record comes from the August 2025 strike on the 108th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment and Baltimore airfield in Voronezh. Ukrainska Pravda, citing CyberBoroshno satellite-image analysis, reported that the destroyed S-300 equipment included 76N6 and 30N6 radars. UNITED24 Media reported the same CyberBoroshno assessment, described damage at the 76N6 radar position, and tied the site to an S-300 division deployed to protect the airfield.
Sources: DOD Slovakia S-300 Transfer, Oryx Slovak Arms Deliveries to Ukraine, Ukrainska Pravda Voronezh S-300 Radars, UNITED24 Baltimore Airbase Strike
Timeline
On April 8, 2022, Slovakia publicly confirmed the S-300 transfer to Ukraine, with U.S. officials describing it as part of allied support for Ukrainian air defense and announcing a Patriot deployment to Slovakia. Oryx later cataloged the same Slovak aid stream and identified the S-300PMU radar set as containing a 5N66M Clam Shell.
On August 16-17, 2025, Ukrainian drones struck the Voronezh airfield area. Reporting published on August 27 identified the destroyed or hit S-300 radar equipment as a 76N6 target-detection radar and a 30N6 tracking-and-illumination radar, with the damage assessed from satellite imagery.
Sources: DOD Slovakia S-300 Transfer, Oryx Slovak Arms Deliveries to Ukraine, Ukrainska Pravda Voronezh S-300 Radars, UNITED24 Baltimore Airbase Strike
Air-defense role
The Clam Shell is a sensor rather than a missile launcher. Air Power Australia's technical summary describes the 76N6 Clam Shell as a two-dimensional acquisition radar used to support 30N6-series S-300 fire-control radars and to acquire low-flying cruise missiles and terrain-following aircraft. GlobalSecurity similarly describes the 76N6S as a low-altitude detector that provides target designation to S-300PMU air-defense complexes.
In Ukraine-war sourcing, that role appears in two different ways: Ukraine received a Clam Shell-family radar as part of a transferred S-300PMU battery, while Russian forces are documented with a 76N6 in an S-300PM2 radar set protecting military facilities near Voronezh. The sources support transfer, fielding, and loss documentation; they do not independently identify a specific engagement in which a 76N6 track led to a missile launch.
Sources: Air Power Australia 76N6 Clam Shell, GlobalSecurity 76N6 Clam Shell, Oryx Slovak Arms Deliveries to Ukraine, Ukrainska Pravda Voronezh S-300 Radars
