Three Options: How Ukrainian Armed Forces Shot Down Unique Russian Aircraft A-50 And Il-22
- 16.01.2024, 11:54
The main conclusion has been announced.
Ukrainian Defense Forces shot down an A-50 reconnaissance aircraft of the Russian Armed Forces and seriously damaged an Il-22M air command post. How could these planes be shot down, and how could these wonderful events affect the development of hostilities?
Military analyst, Colonel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Petro Chernik told Apostrophe about this:
— A-50 is a long-range radar detection and control aircraft (created on the basis of the Il-76 military transport aircraft). It is designed to monitor the sky as well as targets on land and sea. It can also help accompany the Kh-101 and Kh-55 missiles. We must understand that 90% of combat operations are on the battle line. And therefore, the main thing in the destruction and damage of these Russian aircraft is the moral component.
The fact is that the Russians can no longer build such aircraft. There were nine A-50 aircraft. Three of them do not fly, one is under repair — it was damaged back in 2022 in Belarus. There are only five combat-ready ones... there were, now there are four. There were five Il-22M air command posts, but two or three had also already been shot down.
Russia claims to be the “second power in the world,” but can no longer build such equipment. And it is, of course, wonderful that they were shot down. Another benefit is minus $330 million for each aircraft. As they say, a small thing, but nice. Again, the crew died (I’m talking about the A-50). These are experienced pilots who have had serious training. And not only pilots, but also specialists who directly service reconnaissance equipment.
The most important thing, in my opinion, is that the Ukrainians have demonstrated that they have weapons that are capable of reaching and destroying such targets. If we take the point where the planes disappeared from radar, the strike was delivered at a distance of 130 kilometers. No one now knows exactly what happened. But even if this is some kind of improved version of the MIM-104 Patriot missile (declared range — 120 kilometers), plus a buffer zone of at least 20 kilometers, then a very positive option is already emerging. That is, the range is at least 150 kilometers.
Perhaps this is some kind of the most modern version of the Patriot. Why not? Maybe. The second option is the French-Italian SAMP/T anti-aircraft missile system, with a range of 300 kilometers. Also — why not? It's also possible. Well, the third version, which may seem fantastic, unlikely, but is entirely possible — this is the F-16. But I want to emphasize that this is only one version. The third one. And then some media outlets began to enthusiastically write: “Hurray, hurray, we finally have F-16s working.” But that just might be it. It may not be so.
But in any case, both the first and second aircraft were destroyed and damaged by the same type of modern anti-aircraft missile weapons. And the main conclusion is that Russia can no longer protect its serious and very expensive aviation equipment.