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Mass Drone Attack On Exposed Russian Bombers Puts Spotlight On Hardened Aircraft Shelter Debate
New details continue to emerge about Ukraine's unprecedented covert drone attacks on multiple Russian air bases, but the full scale and scope of the resulting losses remain unclear. It is the latest global event to put a spotlight on an already fierce debate about whether the U.S. military should be investing in more hardened aircraft shelters and other new fortified infrastructure at bases abroad and at home, something TWZ has been following closely. What we just saw in Russia is a nightmare scenario that we have already been sounding the alarm on for years now, which broadly underscores the growing threats posed by drones. Readers can first get up to speed on what is known about the attacks, which were focused on trying to neutralize Russian strategic bombers that are regularly used to conduct cruise missile attacks on Ukraine, in our latest reporting here. Authorities in Ukraine say they attacked five bases with a total of 117 small and relatively short-range first-person-view (FPV) type kamikaze drones, destroying or at least damaging 41 aircraft. Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, has also said that 'at least 13 Russian aircraft were destroyed.' These claims have yet to be independently verified and they should be taken as speculative at this time. The russian terrorist state no longer has the ability to produce Tu-95s or any kind of strategic bomber. This is a tremendous victory for Ukraine. — Michael MacKay (@mhmck) June 1, 2025 The drones were launched from container-like enclosures built to look like small sheds or tiny homes on tractor-trailer trucks. Questions remain about exactly how they were guided to their targets, but at least some of them were human-in-the-loop guided by operators using first-person-view 'goggles' or tablet-like devices. 5/5. After launching, the trailers self-destructed to avoid detection or recovery (see photos). — Roman Sheremeta (@rshereme) June 2, 2025 From the imagery that has already emerged, a key aspect of the Ukrainian drone attacks was that the Russian planes that were targeted were parked out in the open. The fact that aircraft sitting on open flightlines are especially vulnerable, including to uncrewed aerial threats, is not new. 'One day last week, I had two small UASs that were interfering with operations… At one base, the gate guard watched one fly over the top of the gate check, tracked it while it flew over the flight line for a little while, and then flew back out and left,' now-retired Air Force Gen. James 'Mike' Holmes, then head of Air Combat Command (ACC), said in 2017, now nearly a decade ago. 'Imagine a world where somebody flies a couple hundred of those and flies one down the intake of my F-22s with just a small weapon on it.' At that time, TWZ noted that it would be easier for an adversary to just attack parked planes in the open, offering a way to knock out large numbers of aircraft before they can even get airborne. Since then, we have already had multiple opportunities to re-highlight the ever-growing risk of something like this occurring to America's armed forces, including scenarios involving more localized attacks on bases far from active war zones by lower-end weaponized commercial drones. The Russian military has been acutely aware of drone threats to air bases even before the all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A mass drone attack on Russia's Khmeimim Air Base outpost in Syria in 2017 was a watershed moment that TWZ highlighted at the time as a sign of things to come. Regular drone attacks on Khmeimim in the late 2010s also prompted the construction of new hardened aircraft shelters there. Last year, Russia's Minister of Defense Andrey Belousov said that 'a schedule for airfields has already been drawn up and that shelters will definitely be built' in response to Ukrainian drone and missile attacks, according to independent Russian journalist Alexander Kots. The construction of new aircraft shelters, hardened and unhardened, had already been visible in satellite imagery of a growing number of air bases in Russia since late 2023. However, from what has been observed to date, the focus has been on better protecting tactical jets at bases closer to Ukraine. Just recently, Belousov was shown a model of a hangar with a Tu-160 Blackjack bomber inside as part of a presentation on new developments relating to prefabricated and modular structures for various military purposes. Whether or not the hangar model reflects an active project, or is a proposal or notional concept of some kind, is unclear. Tu-160s were among the aircraft types Ukraine explicitly targeted with its covert drone attacks this weekend. Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov was shown a model of a hangar for Tu-160 strategic bombers during a visit last — Rob Lee (@RALee85) June 2, 2025 Russia's construction of new aircraft shelters is part of an expanding global trend that has also been observed in China, North Korea, and elsewhere. Hardened Aircraft Shelters of J-10 Fighters — Húrin (@Hurin92) September 8, 2023 Geolocation: 39.4069444, 125.8983333Sunchon AB, DPRK (North Korea)10/27/23 Sentinel-2 L2A pass shows paving and shelters (16 total) completed. Sunchon is home to the KPAAF 57th Air Regiment (MiG-29s).@GeoConfirmedhttps:// — Evergreen Intel (@vcdgf555) December 1, 2023 Satellite imagery of Nasosnaya Air Base – Republic Of Azerbaijan Construction of hangars for JF-17 fighter jets, which began in early 2024, is now in its final stages. The base will soon be ready to host a full squadron of 16 aircraft. — آریان || Āryān (@BasedQizilbash) May 28, 2025 The U.S. military does have hardened aircraft shelters are various bases, but has made very limited investments in building more since the end of the Cold War. Calls for new shelters, hardened or otherwise, have been pointedly absent from U.S. military planning in recent years, at least publicly. Some American officials have actively pushed back on the idea, often citing the cost of building new hardened infrastructure, which is funding that could be applied elsewhere. The U.S. Air Force, for instance, has been more focused on active defenses, such as surface-to-air missile systems, and expanding the number of operating locations that forces could be dispersed to, if necessary. 'So, we will have the need for bases, the main operating bases from which we operate,' Air Force Gen. Kevin Schneider, head of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), said at the Air & Space Forces Association's (AFA) 2025 Warfare Symposium in March. 'The challenge becomes, at some point, we will need to move to austere locations. We will need to disaggregate the force. We will need to operate out of other locations, again, one for survivability, and two, again, to provide response options.' Those are requirements that 'cost money' and force the Air Force to 'make internal trades,' such as 'do we put that dollar towards, you know, fixing the infrastructure at Kadena [Air Base in Japan] or do we put that dollar towards restoring an airfield at Tinian,' Schneider added. There is growing criticism that U.S. forces are being left increasingly vulnerable, including to drone attacks, by a lack of investment in hardened aircraft shelters and other new fortified facilities. A recent deployment of six of the U.S. Air Force's 19 prized B-2 stealth bombers to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, which wrapped up earlier this month, had offered a new datapoint in the shelter debate. Diego Garcia only has four specially designed B-2 shelters open, which are not hardened in any way, and the bombers were seen parked out in the open while on the island. More recently, a detachment of F-15E Strike Eagles arrived on the island to help provide force protection to other assets still there. 'While 'active defenses' such as air and missile defense systems are an important part of base and force protection, their high cost and limited numbers mean the U.S. will not be able to deploy enough of them to fully protect our bases,' a group of 13 Republican members of Congress had written in an open letter to the heads of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy in May 2024. 'In order to complement active defenses and strengthen our bases, we must invest in 'passive defenses,' like hardened aircraft shelters and underground bunkers, dispersal of forces across both within a base and across multiple bases, redundant logistical facilities, and rapid runway repair capabilities.' 'While hardened aircraft shelters do not provide complete protection from missile attacks, they do offer significantly more protection against submunitions than expedient shelters (relocatable steel shelters). They would also force China to use more force to destroy each aircraft, thereby increasing the resources required to attack our forces and, in turn, the survivability of our valuable air assets,' they added. 'Constructing hardened shelters for all our air assets may not be economically feasible or tactically sensible, but the fact that the number of such shelters on U.S. bases in the region has barely changed over a decade is deeply troubling.' In January, the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington, D.C., released a report that underscores the points made above about the benefits that new hardened aircraft shelters offer in terms of reducing vulnerability and increasing the resources an enemy would have to expend. The authors of the Hudson report assessed that 10 missiles, each with a warhead capable of scattering cluster munitions across areas 450 feet in diameter, could be enough to neutralize all aircraft parked in the open and critical fuel storage facilities at key airbases like Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan, Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, or Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. The general points made here about the particular danger of submunitions from cluster weapons could also apply to drones with similarly sized warheads like the ones Ukraine just used in its attacks on Russia's air bases. Even fully-enclosed, but unhardened shelters could provide a modicum of additional defense against these kinds of threats. Last year, officials at two U.S. air bases – Langley Air Force Base in Virginia and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina – expressed interest in the possibility of adding nets or other similar physical defensive measures to existing open-ended sunshade-type shelters to help protect against attacks by smaller drones. It's unclear whether there has been any movement since on actual implementation. Nets are among the drone defenses currently used on both sides of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Waves of still-mysterious drone incursions over Langley Air Force Base in December 2023, which TWZ was the first to report on, remain a particular focal point for broader calls from Congress and elsewhere to better protect U.S. military facilities against uncrewed aerial threats. What happened at Langley is just one of a still-growing number of worrisome drone incidents over and around U.S. military facilities, training ranges, and warships off the coast of the United States, as well as critical civilian infrastructure, in the past decade or so, many of which we have reported first. Overseas bases well outside of established conflict zones that host American forces have been the site of concerning drone overflights in recent years, as well. There was also a flurry of reported drone sightings last year over New Jersey and other parts of the United States last year, many of which quickly turned out to be spurious. However, the surge in public attention underscored a real threat, as Ukraine has now demonstrated in dramatic fashion. While Ukraine says its covert drone attacks on Russia took more than a year to plan, prepare for, and stage, they also underscore how the basic barriers to entry for carrying out drone attacks, especially ones involving weaponized commercial designs, have long been low in terms of cost and technical aptitude. The operation notably leveraged ArduPilot, described as an 'open source autopilot system' that is freely available online. Of course open source software has been used in war before, but seeing ArduPilot Mission Planner being used to blow up Russian strategic bombers is still wild. — John Wiseman (@ 2025-06-01T15:55:48.877Z Additional footage shows another FPV drone overflying the airfield; multiple Tupolev Tu-95 bombers are seen aflame. — Jimmy Rushton (@JimmySecUK) June 1, 2025 18 years after @Jrdmnz @jason4short and I created ArduPilot, here it is destroying large parts of the Russian air force. Crazy — Chris Anderson (@chr1sa) June 1, 2025 Drone threats are only to expand and accelerate in terms of sophistication, thanks in large part to advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, as time goes on. Uncrewed aerial systems with rapidly improving autonomous navigation and targeting capabilities that do not require a human in the loop present particularly serious threats. Without the need for an active link to a human operator, those drones are immune to jamming and do not pump out radio emissions that can help provide early warning to defenders. They are also not limited in range to keep a connection with their controllers. Improving capabilities to autonomously find and prosecute targets are already emerging on one-way-attack drones, and this is something that can be expected to proliferate, as well. Autonomous drones that can target objects dynamic targeting without having to rely just on a fixed set of coordinates via satellite navigation like GPS, another signal that can be disrupted, will only make drone threats more complex and vastly harder to counter overall. TWZ has explored all of this in great detail in this past feature. Swarming is another area that will make lower-end drones so much harder to defeat. Working cooperatively as an integrated team at computer speeds allows drones to operate and react with extreme efficiency beyond the pace of the enemy's decision cycle. This, along with sheer mass and the resilience that goes with that, can quickly overwhelm defenses. 'In general, the technology to field systems has far outpaced the technology to defeat those systems,' Rear Adm. Paul Spedero, Vice Director for Operations, J3, Joint Chiefs of Staff, told members of the House Oversight Committee at a hearing on drone threats in April. 'It's a much wider, broader, deeper market for drone application, for commercial and recreational purposes, so hence that technology has evolved very quickly from radio control drones to now fully autonomous drones that may or may not even rely on reception of a GPS signal, which would make it very challenging to intercept.' Ukraine's covert drone attacks on Russia also underscore that these are increasingly threats unbounded by basic geography. An adversary could launch uncrewed aerial attackers from 1,000 miles away or from an area right next to the target, or anywhere in between. There are many drone types that can address those missions needs, and affordably so. Those drones could be launched from the ground, from ships at sea, and/or from aerial platforms, including other lower-end drones. Complex attacks involving different tiers of threats approaching from multiple vectors at once only add to the complications for defending forces. Ukrainian "Dovbush" UAV carrying and releasing two FPV drones during "Dovbush" UAV is reportedly capable of carrying up to six FPV drones at the same — Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (BlueSky too) (@Archer83Able) November 19, 2024 Despite all this, America's armed forces have also continued to lag in the fielding of counter-drone defenses for forces down-range, as well as bases and other assets in and around the homeland. Domestically, an often convoluted array of legal, regulatory, and other factors have presented challenges. On the sidelines of a U.S. military counter-drone experiment called Falcon Peak 2025 in October 2024, TWZ and other outlets were notably told that lasers, microwaves, surface-to-air missiles, and guns were all off the table as options for neutralizing drones within the United States, at least at the time. For over a decade I have outlined the exact scenario as we just saw in Russia. It could happen in the U.S. tomorrow. This was a pivotal event. U.S. military and political leadership cannot live in partial denial of this threat anymore. Our most prized aircraft are sitting ducks. — Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) June 1, 2025 The biggest challenge with this issue is education. Many just don't take the time to learn the ins and outs of the UAS threat, there are many layers and nuances, emerging technologies. There are high up people in the military that don't even really understand these basics. Then… — Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) June 1, 2025 The U.S. military does continue to push for enhancements to the authorities it has now to protect its bases and other assets domestically against drone threats. As part of a new Pentagon-wide counter-drone strategy rolled out last year, U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) has a 'synchronizer role' that includes making sure commanders know what they are allowed to do now if drones appear around their facilities. Ukraine's drone attacks on Russian air bases this past weekend can only add to the already intense debate over investments in hardened aircraft shelters and other fortified infrastructure, as well as fuel calls for new counter-drone defenses, in general. The stark reality of what Ukrainian intelligence services have now demonstrated makes clear that uncrewed aerial threats, including to key assets deep inside a country's national territory, are well past the point of something that can be ignored. Contact the author: joe@
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7 hours ago
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What Ukraine's Unprecedented Drone Attack Means For Russia's Bomber Force
Operation Spiderweb, the large-scale Ukrainian drone strike against airbases across Russia yesterday, which you can read about in our coverage here, primarily targeted Moscow's fleet of strategic bombers. These aircraft, which have been extensively used to launch cruise missile attacks on Ukraine, have been targeted before, but never on such a scale — a reported 117 drones were launched against at least four airfields. At this point, it's unclear how many aircraft were destroyed or damaged, but there's little doubt that the Ukrainian operation will have a long-term effect on Russian strategic aviation. According to an initial statement from the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff, the drones hit 41 aircraft. As of today, those claims have been reassessed, with Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, saying that 'at least 13 Russian aircraft were destroyed.' These supposedly included examples of the Tu-22M3 Backfire-C intermediate-range supersonic bomber, Tu-95MS Bear-H long-range turboprop bomber, and A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform. Still unconfirmed are reports about the possible destruction of a Tu-160 Blackjack long-range supersonic bomber. The Tu-160 is very much the jewel in the crown of the Long-Range Aviation branch and is the only Russian bomber that is still in production — albeit on a very limited scale — as we will discuss later. Russian air defense crew filming a burning Olenya airbase, with multiple Russian Tu-95 bombers seen ablaze after a Ukrainian strike this afternoon. — OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) June 1, 2025 Based on open-source intelligence, including video evidence, unverified accounts suggest that two Tu-95MS were destroyed and two more damaged at Olenya Air Base (also known as Olenyegorsk), as well as one An-12 Cub transport aircraft destroyed. At Belaya Air Base, more than 2,500 miles from Ukraine, there is satellite evidence that suggests at least three more Tu-95MS destroyed and one possibly damaged, plus as many as four Tu-22M3s destroyed. Russian films the burning remains of Russian Tu-95s and Tu-22s at the Belaya military airfield in the Irkutsk region — Special Kherson Cat (@bayraktar_1love) June 2, 2025 Today, Ukrainian intelligence reportedly launched 117 attack drones from trucks that had been placed near Russian air bases. I tasked several collects this morning via @umbraspace and my first images have already started processing. What a remarkable success in a well-executed… — Chris Biggers (@CSBiggers) June 2, 2025 The revetted parking positions. — Chris Biggers (@CSBiggers) June 2, 2025 The individual identity of at least one of the Tu-95MS destroyed at Olenya has meanwhile been confirmed. Tu-95MS Bort No. "22" Red (RF-94257), which carried the honorary name "Chelyabinsk," is one of the aircraft confirmed destroyed in today's drone attack by Ukraine on Olenya air base in Russia's Murmansk Oblast. — Guy Plopsky (@GuyPlopsky) June 1, 2025 Olenya is located on the Kola Peninsula, south of Murmansk, and is home to the 40th Composite Aviation Regiment flying Tu-22M3s. Belaya, near Irkutsk, is also a Backfire base, accommodating the 200th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment. Russian bombers now frequently redeploy to different bases, in large part to try and escape Ukrainian attacks, so it's not uncommon for different types to be found at different locations. There are also suggestions that a large number of Tu-95MS aircraft may have arrived at Olenya only recently, making the timing of the Ukrainian attack even more impressive — or fortuitous. Another two air bases — Dyagilevo and Ivanovo — were also attacked. Of these, Dyagilevo, in the Ryazan region, is a training center for Russian Long-Range Aviation, while Ivanovo, in the region of the same name, is the home base of the A-50 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) fleet, although these aircraft are now normally forward-deployed. The Russian Ministry of Defense admitted that FPV drone attacks had taken place in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions and that 'several' aircraft had been set on fire in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions, which would indicate Olenya and Belaya. As for the reference to the Amur region, this likely points to an attempted attack on Ukrainka Air Base, another bomber airfield. Unconfirmed reports suggest that a drone-filled truck that was intended to strike that airfield, but never reached the target, for reasons unknown. Several videos show a burning truck close to Ukrainka. There was a fith target, but the truck supposedly never got Air Base51.1691, 128.4456https:// — Def Mon (@DefMon3) June 1, 2025 It's worth noting, too, that the A-50 radar plane is not a part of Russia's Long-Range Aviation. These aircraft belong to Russia's sole AEW&C squadron and are primarily tasked with air defense and command and control duties. They have played an important part in the war in Ukraine, reflected in earlier efforts to target these aircraft in the air and on the ground. Prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia was estimated to have nine A-50s in active service. As well as the two combat losses since then, one of these aircraft was damaged in a drone attack while on the ground at a base in Belarus. As it stands, prior to yesterday, the best-case scenario involved seven of these aircraft in active service. The Ukrainian Armed Forces determined that the total cost of the damage was around $7 billion, a figure presumably based on roughly 40 aircraft being permanently put out of action. This is very hard to quantify, however, bearing in mind the uncertainty about the number of aircraft hit, the extent of the damage, and the fact that these aircraft have been out of production for decades. The only Russian bomber for which a somewhat meaningful price tag can be determined is the Tu-160, which may not even have been destroyed in the attack. Regardless, back in 2018, the Russian Ministry of Defense ordered 10 new Tu-160M2s at a cost of 160 billion roubles, making it the most expensive Russian aircraft. That equates to over $500 million per aircraft if the purchasing power parity factor is taken into account. Russian aerospace expert Piotr Butowski told TWZ he expects that the figure was underestimated back then and, moreover, 'in the current circumstances, I would add another 50 percent.' 'This is the only aircraft that is currently in production, so its price can be estimated,' Butowski added. 'How to estimate the price of the Tu-95MS, which has not been produced for 30-plus years and has no replacement? Its value to the Russian air force is greater than money.' The bombers of Long-Range Aviation that were primarily in the crosshairs of Sunday's drone strike are among Russia's most prized strategic aerial assets. Critically, none of these aircraft can be replaced quickly, and most of them cannot be replaced at all, since the production capabilities have long since ceased to exist. The option of bringing long-since-retired aircraft back into service is increasingly unviable. With such aircraft having been stored in the open for decades and scavenged for parts, the extent of work required to make them airworthy again would be huge. Of Russia's bombers, the oldest design is the Tu-95MS. This unique four-turboprop, swept-wing aircraft dates back to the early 1950s. However, today's Tu-95MS was manufactured between 1982 and 1992 as a dedicated carrier for cruise missiles. A total of 88 Bear-H bombers were completed before the collapse of the Soviet Union, after which 40 were left in Kazakhstan and another 25 in Ukraine. Kazakhstan returned to Russia all the aircraft in its territory, while only the three most modern examples from those left in Ukraine made it back to Russia in 1999, the others being scrapped. Reflecting the continued importance of the Bear-H, surviving aircraft have been steadily upgraded to Tu-95MSM standard. This provides a new radar, flight control system, and navigation suite. The cockpit is also updated, with new liquid-crystal displays. At the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia had a force of likely a little less than 50 Tu-95MS aircraft. If reports of the destruction of five Bear-Hs prove to be correct, the loss of 10 percent of the fleet would be very significant. For all of the given totals of bomber types, it should also be recalled that, at any given time, only a portion of the entire fleet is operational, with others undergoing routine maintenance, being cycled through deeper upgrades, and so on. The swing-wing Tu-22M3 is another Cold War design, the development of which began in the late 1960s. Unlike the Tu-95MS and the Tu-160, the Tu-22M3 is also able to carry free-fall bombs, although in the Ukraine war, it has primarily been associated with attacks using Kh-22 (AS-4 Kitchen) supersonic anti-ship missiles repurposed for use against ground targets. This weapon has proven to be very destructive, although not highly precise, for land attack applications and has resulted in significant numbers of civilian deaths. The definitive Tu-22M3 version first flew in 1977, and a total of 268 examples were built up to 1993. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some Tu-22Ms remained in Ukraine and were briefly operated before being scrapped between 2002 and 2006. The Tu-22M3M upgrade is an effort to keep the Backfire relevant, although it has made only slow progress. It is primarily an avionics upgrade, adding a modernized radar, weapons control system, and navigation/communications equipment, as well as an updated cockpit. It also brings compatibility with new weapons. The Russian Aerospace Forces started the war in Ukraine with approximately 60 Tu-22M3s in service, although there have been other incidents of combat losses and attrition since February launch of two supersonic cruise missiles kh-22 from a long-range supersonic missile-carrying bomber Tu-22. fighter_bomber — Massimo Frantarelli (@MrFrantarelli) May 11, 2022 Finally, the Tu-160 is the most modern and capable of Russia's bomber triad, but also its smallest fleet component. The current Russian Tu-160 fleet numbers around 16 operational aircraft. It's also the only one that can be replaced, at least in theory. For now, we also don't know for sure if any Blackjacks were destroyed in yesterday's drone strikes. The first of two prototype Tu-160s took to the air in 1981 and was followed by 33 series-production aircraft (including one for static tests). The initial production run came to an end in 1994, with four aircraft unfinished at the factory in Kazan. Three of these have since been completed. The demise of the Soviet Union left 19 Tu-160s in Ukraine until a deal was brokered between Moscow and Kyiv, and eight of them were finally returned to Russia between 1999 and 2000. Of the other 11 aircraft in Ukraine, one was preserved, and the remainder were scrapped. The Tu-160 is also subject to an upgrade program, and, unlike the other bombers, Russia is building additional examples to serve as a stopgap until the potential arrival of the next-generation PAK DA bomber, whenever that might happen. At this point, it's hard to envisage Russia having the funds to replace its bomber fleet with an advanced stealth flying-wing type, especially while it is being crushed by sanctions and its military has taken huge losses in equipment and manpower in a war that has no foreseeable end at this time. With that in mind, the existing bomber force becomes an even more critical asset. In January 2018, Moscow ordered 10 new-build Tu-160Ms, each of which was expected to cost around $270 million, with the first example planned to be ready in 2021. While the Russian Ministry of Defense has said it wants to receive at least 50 new-build Tu-160M aircraft, no further orders have been placed since then. In January 2022, the first new-build Tu-160M took to the air, as you can read about here. Confusingly, the Tu-160M designation is applied to both new-build aircraft and upgraded versions of the older aircraft. As we have discussed in the past, the Tu-160M is based around an entirely new mission system and avionics. This includes a new radar, digital cockpit displays, flight control system, navigation equipment, and communication suite. A new self-protection suite is also installed. The effort to build new Blackjacks has been far from easy. Only around three new-build Tu-160Ms had been completed as of early last year, and none of these were in operational service. Therefore, while Russia has a theoretical ability to introduce new-build bombers to service, and to make good losses sustained by drone strikes, or other attrition, this is not something that can be done rapidly and not without great cost. Even taking one or two bombers out of operation will impact the Russian Aerospace Forces. The bomber triad has played a key role in launching the barrages of cruise missiles that have regularly struck targets across Ukraine. At the same time, these aircraft are a integral part of Russia's nuclear deterrent. This makes them a matter of great prestige, but also a critical element in Russia's ability to launch nuclear or conventional airstrikes against targets outside of Ukraine. These aircraft are also regularly used for long-range patrols over Europe and Asia, also venturing as far as the coast of Alaska, and for irregular visits to strategic allies. Wiping out a significant portion of one prong of the nuclear triad — the most flexible part of it — has an impact on the credibility of Russia's overall deterrent. It's also worth noting that Moscow has repeatedly said that attacks on strategic targets would constitute a red line for them, although, strategic bombers and critical locales have been attacked on numerous occasions in the past, too. None of these strikes have been as widespread and possibly successful as this operation though. Regardless, even if a handful of bombers met their demise, it's a blow to Russia's nuclear deterrent posture. Russia just lost an unknown number of strategic aircraft that are directly tied to validity of their nuclear deterrent. We don't know if this was four or 40 aircraft. The strategic nature of the effects of this attack puts it into uncharted territory. And YES, these aircraft… — Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) June 1, 2025 Even before yesterday's massed drone strikes, the vulnerability of Russia's bombers to Ukrainian attack was abundantly clear. Until now, however, attacks on these aircraft have tended to target only one base at a time, using smaller numbers of long-range one-way attack drones. The repeated nature of these Ukrainian attacks had led to Russian air bases dispersing their aircraft for protection. There have been other measures, too, as TWZ has reported in the past: The Russian Aerospace Forces have also taken further precautions at their bases. Initially, they installed blast walls between active aircraft. This was an attempt to contain any damage to one aircraft in an attack, designed to prevent both fire and shrapnel from spreading. More recently, construction work at multiple bases has been adding many dozens of new hardened aircraft shelters to better shield aircraft from drone attacks and other indirect fire. However, the size of the bombers means they cannot be provided with the same kinds of protection. As well as the physical hardening of airfields, Russia has arranged discarded aircraft as decoys. More unorthodox measures have included placing car tires on the upper surfaces of aircraft and painting aircraft silhouettes on concrete airfield surfaces. The tires, specifically, were intended to confuse image-matching seekers on Ukrainian-operated standoff weapons. At the same time, anti-aircraft defenses have been set up at Russian airfields, although their effectiveness has clearly been mixed, despite Moscow's claims to the contrary. With that in mind, it's far from clear how Russia will respond to the latest drone attacks on its airbases. One immediate change could be to move to an even more highly dispersed positioning model, which will severely limit the bombers' effectiveness for Ukraine operations. At the same time, attacks on its bases can be launched even from great distances, making any effort to prevent them much harder. Added to this is the prospect of more capable drones being used for attacks in the future, including examples with enhanced countermeasures, or AI-infused drones that will be immune to jamming and will not need a man-in-the-loop for dynamic targeting. Longer-term, Russia might look to protect its bombers under enormous hardened aircraft shelters (HAS). This is a measure that is already being undertaken for Russian tactical jets at bases closer to Ukraine, and we recently also saw a plan that envisaged a HAS large enough to accommodate a Tu-160. Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov was shown a model of a hangar for Tu-160 strategic bombers during a visit last — Rob Lee (@RALee85) June 2, 2025 Moscow's immediate response to the Ukrainian operation has been to launch more of its own drones against Ukraine: the Ukrainian Air Force says Russia launched 472 drones overnight, claimed to be the highest nightly total of the war so far, as well as seven missiles. While that was a predictable outcome, it remains to be seen what longer-term measures Russia will adopt to better protect its bombers and other high-value aircraft against future attacks while sitting idle on the ground. Contact the author: thomas@
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3 days ago
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- Yahoo
Haitian deportations from Dominican Republic rise 70%
May 30 (UPI) -- More than 200,000 undocumented migrants have left the Dominican Republic this year, including at least 145,000 Haitians deported by immigration authorities. The figure marks a 70% increase from the same period last year and is part of a plan by President Luis Abinader and the National Security and Defense Council to reduce the number of undocumented migrants in the country. The Dominican Republic's General Directorate of Migration has stepped up immigration operations and deportations of Haitians since October 2024, when a new immigration law took effect. International organizations have raised concerns about the impact deportations have had on the Haitian community in the Dominican Republic. Many people now live in fear of being detained and expelled, which has limited their access to basic services such as healthcare and education. The Caribbean nation has barred entry to pregnant Haitian women in their third trimester, saying its healthcare system cannot cover the cost of childbirth for undocumented foreigners. The United Nations condemned the deportation of 900 pregnant or breastfeeding Haitian women from the Dominican Republic in recent months. U.N. Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the International Organization for Migration provided assistance at the border to an average of 30 such women each month during their deportation, calling the practice a violation of international standards. Dujarric added that nearly 20,000 Haitians were repatriated from the Dominican Republic between April and May 2025, the highest number on record for that time period. The Dominican Republic has tightened its immigration policy by partially closing its border with Haiti and building a 160-kilometer border wall equipped with sensors, cameras and watchtowers. The government said the measures aim to curb irregular migration, smuggling and insecurity. The DGM defended the immigration operations, saying they comply with human rights standards. "Our actions are carried out with strict respect for the fundamental rights of those involved, ensuring dignified treatment, proper safety and hygiene conditions, and due process in accordance with national and international human rights standards," the agency said in a press release. Haiti is facing one of the worst crises in its recent history, marked by widespread violence from armed gangs that control more than 80% of Port-au-Prince. These groups have carried out attacks on public institutions, mass killings, and prison breaks, displacing more than 1 million people and leaving the transitional government, led by the Presidential Transitional Council under Fritz Alphonse Jean, in collapse. The insecurity has overwhelmed Haiti's health system, forcing hospital closures, driving medical professionals to flee the country, and triggering outbreaks of diseases such as cholera. The crisis is compounded by severe food insecurity, with more than 5 million people struggling to access adequate food and thousands living in famine conditions.
UPI
3 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Haitian deportations from Dominican Republic rise 70%
At least 145,000 Haitian migrants, like those seen here at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021, were among more than 200,000 undocumented migrants who have left the Dominican Republic so far in 2025. Photo by Ariana Drehsler/UPI | License Photo May 30 (UPI) -- More than 200,000 undocumented migrants have left the Dominican Republic this year, including at least 145,000 Haitians deported by immigration authorities. The figure marks a 70% increase from the same period last year and is part of a plan by President Luis Abinader and the National Security and Defense Council to reduce the number of undocumented migrants in the country. The Dominican Republic's General Directorate of Migration has stepped up immigration operations and deportations of Haitians since October 2024, when a new immigration law took effect. International organizations have raised concerns about the impact deportations have had on the Haitian community in the Dominican Republic. Many people now live in fear of being detained and expelled, which has limited their access to basic services such as healthcare and education. The Caribbean nation has barred entry to pregnant Haitian women in their third trimester, saying its healthcare system cannot cover the cost of childbirth for undocumented foreigners. The United Nations condemned the deportation of 900 pregnant or breastfeeding Haitian women from the Dominican Republic in recent months. U.N. Secretary-General spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the International Organization for Migration provided assistance at the border to an average of 30 such women each month during their deportation, calling the practice a violation of international standards. Dujarric added that nearly 20,000 Haitians were repatriated from the Dominican Republic between April and May 2025, the highest number on record for that time period. The Dominican Republic has tightened its immigration policy by partially closing its border with Haiti and building a 160-kilometer border wall equipped with sensors, cameras and watchtowers. The government said the measures aim to curb irregular migration, smuggling and insecurity. The DGM defended the immigration operations, saying they comply with human rights standards. "Our actions are carried out with strict respect for the fundamental rights of those involved, ensuring dignified treatment, proper safety and hygiene conditions, and due process in accordance with national and international human rights standards," the agency said in a press release. Haiti is facing one of the worst crises in its recent history, marked by widespread violence from armed gangs that control more than 80% of Port-au-Prince. These groups have carried out attacks on public institutions, mass killings, and prison breaks, displacing more than 1 million people and leaving the transitional government, led by the Presidential Transitional Council under Fritz Alphonse Jean, in collapse. The insecurity has overwhelmed Haiti's health system, forcing hospital closures, driving medical professionals to flee the country, and triggering outbreaks of diseases such as cholera. The crisis is compounded by severe food insecurity, with more than 5 million people struggling to access adequate food and thousands living in famine conditions.
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
North Korean Soldiers Praised by Russia for Fighting Ukraine
A top Russian official praised North Korean troops for assisting President Vladimir Putin's military in the Ukraine war. Sergei Shoigu, secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, said the troops deployed by Pyongyang to Russia had fought "valiantly" in the Kursk region, Kremlin newswire Tass reported on Thursday. Just months ago, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov dismissed claims by Ukraine and South Korea, denying reports that North Korean troops were involved in the conflict. However, Moscow and Pyongyang issued statements confirming the deployment in April. The praise from Shoigu highlights the growing ties between the two nations amid the ongoing war. Kyiv and Seoul said in December that Pyongyang had deployed an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 servicemen to Russia to fight Ukrainian forces. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Shoigu said the troops deployed to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fought as if they were defending their own country. "They fought for the liberation of our land, as for the liberation of their own land," the former defense minister said, adding that he thanked North Korean officials for their assistance in the border region of Kursk, where Ukraine had launched a cross-border incursion last year. In April, Moscow said it had repelled Ukrainian forces from the area. Andriy Kovalenko, an official on Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said in March that North Korean troops were storming the front lines in Kursk in "columns." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called his troops deployed to Russia "heroes" and said their operation to push Ukrainian forces out of Russia's Kursk region was a "sacred mission." "They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland," North Korean state news agency KCNA reported last month. Weeks ago, the Kremlin released video footage that showed North Korean troops in action. The video showed soldiers being instructed on firing grenade launchers, neutralizing enemy drones and clearing trenches. North Korean leader Kim Jong Unspoke of the Russian alliance in a statement late April, saying Pyongyang is "pleased that the participation of the sub-units of our armed forces in the war has further strengthened the militant ties between the two countries." Russian President Vladimir Putin also said: "The Russian people will never forget the feat of the North Korean special forces fighters. We will always honor the [North Korean] heroes who gave their lives for Russia, for our common freedom, on a par with Russian brothers in arms." South Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement: "With their public admission of the deployment, while claiming they are fully in accordance with international law, they are once again mocking the international community. We strongly condemn this action. "The dispatch of the North Korean troops, along with broader military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, constitutes a grave violation of international norms, including the UN Charter, and UN Security Council resolutions." Andriy Kovalenko said in a YouTube video in March: "The enemy is pouring everything he can on the Kursk region. The [North] Korean troops are trying to columns, they're actually running across fields." It's unclear if North Korea will deploy more troops to Russia. South Korea has said it considers the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia a violation of the UN Charter and the UN Security Council resolution. Related Articles Russia's Reward to North Korea for Troops RevealedExplosion Kills Russian Air Commander Who Lay Siege to Ukrainian CityChina Learns New Lessons From Russia-Ukraine War: ReportRussia To Add 'Drone Studies' to School Curriculum 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
