Ukraine’s missile threat forces Russia to scramble nearly all A-50U aircraft
Photo: Russian A-50U aircraft (planespotters.net)
Russia has significantly increased the use of A-50U long-range radar detection aircraft for airspace control and countering Ukrainian cruise missiles. After almost a complete absence of such patrols in the first half of June, Russian aircraft began to fly regularly and were dispersed across several rear airfields, according to Militarnyi.
An analysis by the CyberBoroshno project revealed increased activity of Russian aviation. Since the beginning of June, A-50U aircraft have been practically unused for patrols near the Ukrainian direction.
In the period from June 4 to June 22, only isolated movements of aircraft were recorded, including the commissioning of a repaired aircraft with tail number "47 red" and a flight along the Vorkuta - Olenya route.
The situation changed after June 23. One of the A-50U aircraft began to regularly conduct night patrols over Russia's rear areas — mainly in the airspace of the Ulyanovsk and Samara regions.
According to the analysis, such activity continued until the end of the studied period and included about 60 flights.
A-50U is an important element of countering missiles
On July 4, the Russian A-50U aircraft played a key role in repelling an attack by Ukrainian cruise missiles, the material states.
Prior to this, Russian aircraft of this type mainly performed flights from the Ivanovo and Ulyanovsk airfields. Later, the enemy stopped actively using these bases and began to disperse the aircraft deeper into Russian territory.
In particular, A-50Us began to be used from the Bolshoye Savino airfield in Perm, Orenburg-2, and Chelyabinsk.
On July 7, Russia simultaneously launched four A-50U aircraft, which, according to analysts' estimates, constitutes almost the entire combat-ready fleet of such aircraft in Russia.
Russia is changing its approach to the use of A-50Us
Thus, in a short period, Russia transitioned from almost complete inactivity of A-50Us to regular use of long-range radar detection aircraft, the analysis notes.
Moscow is likely trying to strengthen airspace control and increase the effectiveness of detecting Ukrainian missile systems.
The A-50U is capable of detecting aerial targets at a significant distance and transmitting information to air defense and aviation systems, making it one of the key elements of Russia's air operations management system.
What is known about the strikes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the enemy's rear
Over the past two weeks, the Defense Forces of Ukraine have been striking the warehouses of Russia's largest marketplace, Wildberries, almost daily. As a result of the attacks, between 17% and 22% of the company's entire logistics infrastructure was damaged.
Ukraine also has not forgotten about enemy oil refineries. On the night of August 2, the Defense Forces of Ukraine struck the Saratov oil refinery, the Engels airfield, an oil depot in the Kaluga region, and other enemy targets.
