Russian A-50 shot down
British see Russian “capability gap” in the air
The A-50 is one of Russia’s most important reconnaissance aircraft – the army only has a few examples. Ukraine has already shot down military aircraft several times.
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In recent times, Russian aircraft have repeatedly been shot down over Ukraine. The British Ministry of Defense assumes that protecting its own ground troops will therefore become a problem for Russia.
This article first appeared on ntv.de
According to the British secret services Russia is having problems protecting its ground troops from the air after the downing of a Russian A-50 airspace reconnaissance aircraft.
It is said that Russia has most likely banned its air force from flying in support of operations in Ukraine in the British Ministry of Defense’s daily intelligence update on X. The loss of this capability will “most likely” lead to a “capability gap that Russia can ill afford in the disputed airspace of eastern and southern Ukraine.”
Ukraine has already shot down Russian reconnaissance aircraft several times
A week ago on Friday, Ukrainian air force chief Mykola Oleshchuk announced that Ukrainian air defense had shot down an A-50. According to military experts, Russia only has around half a dozen operational aircraft of this type. According to its own statements, the Ukrainian military had already shot down an A-50 and another Ilyushin Il-22 reconnaissance aircraft in mid-January.
Former Ukrainian lieutenant colonel Oleksiy Melnyk said on Wednesday Interview with ntv.dethe loss of two A-50s, “of which Russia has fewer than ten, is serious and will make the Russian army less able to fire rockets and cruise missiles at Ukraine.”
Moscow must consider alternatives
This is important, said the military expert. But shooting down a plane only defuses the situation on a specific section of the front for one or two days. “Ukraine continues to need many more anti-aircraft systems that it can deploy near the front with a certain degree of risk,” said Melnyk. “What has happened so far is more in the area of isolated special operations than in the area of systematics.”
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The British intelligence update said Russia would likely explore alternatives to fill the gap created. “It is a realistic possibility that Russia will seek to bring previously mothballed A-50 aircraft back into service” to mitigate the problem. The British secret services still believe that this is an “ongoing problem” for Russia.