Painted planes and tires couldn't save Russia's bombers - Ukraine's Air Force spokesman
Photo: Operation Spiderweb destroyed 41 Russian aircraft (Getty Images)
Even tires and painted decoy aircraft couldnєt save Russiaєs air force from major losses during the successful SBU operation, stated Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force.
"I think we should thank our SBU and everyone who contributed to this operation. All of Ukraine, and not only Ukraine. Because this was truly an unprecedented operation in the history of warfare," Ihnat emphasized.
He reminded that previously, Ukraine celebrated even the isolated destruction of A-50 or Tu-22 aircraft.
"It was an indescribable victory. Any aircraft, like the Su-34 and others. And now we have confirmed destruction or damage to such a significant number of them. Of course, they still have aircraft. Of course, they still have missiles, and the threat hasn’t gone away. But their arsenal has been seriously reduced - equipment that's one-of-a-kind in the world," he noted.
Tires didn’t save them
"Tires, drawings on runways - people have already made memes out of it. I don't know how that's supposed to help," Ihnat said.
He mentioned that maybe, to some extent, tires can protect aircraft from debris and minimize damage.
"But planes aren't armored vehicles. An aircraft's body is made of duralumin, which is easily pierced by shrapnel from a small explosive. That's why everyone had a good laugh about the tires, including Russian aviation blogs. They mocked the fact that neither the tires nor the painted silhouettes on the runways didn't save the aircraft," the spokesperson explained.
Russia tried to protect its aircraft
RBC-Ukraine recently reported on the Pentagon's version of why the Russians have been protecting their aircraft and their painted decoys with car tires.
They have been using this protection technology for several years. As early as 2023, it became known that Russia had started using vehicle tires to shield aircraft from drone attacks.
However, according to experts, the idea was flawed from the start.
Operation Spiderweb
Earlier this week, Ukraine struck four air bases on Russian territory. A total of 117 drones were used for this operation, launched from containers located close to the targets.
According to US intelligence estimates, a total of about 10 combat aircraft were destroyed and up to 20 were damaged.
As it later became known, the SBU achieved a 34% damage rate to strategic cruise missile carriers at the main airfields of Russia.
The Russian losses in a single day have already been calculated.
