Satellite Photos Show Russia's Extremely Rare A-50 Radar Plane Hit
Ukraine damaged one of Russia's few A-50 surveillance planes during coordinated, long-range attacks on multiple bases over the weekend, satellite imagery appears to show.
The rare A-50 aircraft is an expensive and scarce asset for Russia, previously-and successfully-targeted by Ukraine.
Moscow has seven operational A-50 aircraft, said British think tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), earlier this year.
Also known by their NATO moniker, Mainstay, A-50 early warning and control aircraft help Russia seek out Ukrainian air defenses and coordinate attacks with fighter jets and bombers.
Ukraine on Sunday launched simultaneous drone strikes on several major Russian air bases, including thousands of miles away in Siberia, in a meticulously-planned attack that left analysts stunned and Kyiv triumphant.
The head of Ukraine's SBU security service, Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, said on Monday that Kyiv hit 41 aircraft, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers Russia has used extensively to fire long-range missiles at Ukraine.
Ukraine also struck an A-50 spy plane, Malyuk said. Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine's national security and defense council, said on Monday "at least 13 Russian aircraft were destroyed."
At least seven Tu-95s and four Tu-22 aircraft were damaged or destroyed, one unnamed senior Western official told Bloomberg.
Satellite imagery widely circulating online on Tuesday purports to show a damaged, blackened A-50 on the tarmac at the Ivanovo air base northeast of the Russian capital, Moscow.
Newsweek could not independently verify the imagery, which appears to be sourced from a Chinese satellite imagery firm, and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Ukraine publicly confirmed it had targeted four airfields "simultaneously," attacking the Ivanovo base, along with the Olenya facility in the northwestern Murmansk region, the Dyagilevo airfield in the Ryazan region and Belaya, another base for Russia's long-range bombers in Siberia, more than 2,500 miles from Ukrainian territory.
Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukraine had used first person-view (FPV) drones to target military airfields in five regions-Amur, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Murmansk and Ryazan.
Open-source analysis has suggested one A-50 spy plane was damaged or destroyed at Ivanovo air base, as well as four Tu-95 aircraft and three Tu-22M3 bombers at the Belaya air base, the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said on Monday.
A picture, published by satellite imagery giant Maxar, showed A-50 aircraft at the Ivanovo base on May 3, with tires and debris placed on the wings.
Russia is known to have placed tires on the wings of its aircraft throughout the war, trying to fend off Ukrainian drone attacks.
"Aircraft standing on their runway have always been vulnerable," said Frederik Mertens, a strategic analyst with Dutch research organization, TNO. High-value targets, like costly aircraft and the airfields used as home bases, will have to upgrade all types of defenses to shield against the threat drones can now pose, Mertens told Newsweek.
Satellite imagery from Belaya, taken by Maxar on May 20, showed outlines of aircraft painted onto the tarmac alongside Tu-160 bombers and a decoy version of a Tu-22 at the base.
Ukraine said in early 2024 it had taken out two Russian A-50s in quick succession, including one aircraft over the Sea of Azov. In February 2024, Ukraine's military reported Moscow was "trying to replace" its A-50s with reconnaissance drones-although experts suggested to Newsweek that this stopgap measure would have limited success.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said in a statement on Sunday: "Planning, organization, every detail was perfectly executed. It can be said with confidence that this was an absolutely unique operation."
It's not clear whether Ukraine will attempt another, similar operation of the same scale, and how Russia will respond to the strikes after peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow on Monday failed to yield an agreement.
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