Press
Ukraine has probably scored a blow in the battle of drones. A Beriev A-50 may have been destroyed in an attack on Russian territory.
Taganrog – The Ukraine war is particularly a battle of drones. The Ukrainian military repeatedly resorts to remote-controlled aircraft weapons to attack targets deep in Russian territory. Kiev apparently carried out another such attack at the weekend. And may have destroyed an important Russian radar aircraft in the process.
Ukraine flies drone attack on Russian soil – A-50 could be hit
The target of the attack was a factory in the city of Taganrog in Rostov Oblast on the coast of the Sea of Azov, where, among other things, a Russian A-50 aircraft was being repaired. Rostov Governor Vasily Golubev wrote on his Telegram channel that there had been a “massive UAV attack” on the city of Taganrog. The acronym UAV stands for “unmanned aerial vehicle”. According to him, no one was injured. The Russian Defense Ministry spoke of 41 Ukrainian drones that were piloted into the Rostov region.
On the Russian side there is talk of a “successfully repelled attack”. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials and analysts suspect that the A-50 aircraft that was housed at the attacked factory for repairs was damaged and perhaps even destroyed.
The spokesman for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army in southern Ukraine, Serhiy Bratschuk, posted a satellite image of the attacked aircraft factory on Telegram, showing clear damage to the roof of the hangar where the A-50 is said to be located. The analysts at also use the same image Front Intelligence Insightto point out the possible destruction on the A-50. If the drones broke through the roof, their explosive charges would be sufficient to cause serious damage to the aircraft in the hangar.
A-50 important spy plane for Russia in the Ukraine war
The Beriev A-50 Schmel is the Russian Army’s most important airborne radar system for airspace reconnaissance and surveillance. According to the trade magazine Flight review The characteristic radar on the back of the aircraft can detect up to 50 targets at a maximum distance of 230 kilometers. Larger targets, such as ships, can be identified even from a distance of 400 kilometers.
This reconnaissance power makes the A-50 not only very important for Russian air reconnaissance. The aircraft is also extremely expensive: depending on the equipment, it costs between 300 and 500 million dollars. What makes it all the more unpleasant for Russia is that at least two of the planes have already been shot down. With, according to experts, no more than ten aircraft, a bitter loss.
For Russia, the A-50’s reconnaissance and early warning system could become even more important, especially with a view to deliveries of long-range missiles to Ukraine, such as the Taurus cruise missiles. The loss of surveillance aircraft would be difficult to compensate for with drones, Samuel Bendett from the US think tank Center for Naval Analyzes told the US portal Newsweek. (pkb)