Ukraine’s military success: how the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed Russian A-50s and Il-22s, which is equivalent to shooting down 10 Dagger missiles at a time
The Ukrainian Armed Forces command warned that “the weather is not conducive to flights,” but the occupiers decided to check the situation over the Sea of Azov. The risk resulted in a severe blow to the prestige and budget of the PCC ha. Military analysts interviewed by Focus call the destruction of two Russian reconnaissance aircraft a world-class military achievement.
The Ukrainian military shot down two Russian aircraft: An A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and an Il-22 airborne control center flying over the Sea of Azov. The first aircraft was shot down immediately, and the second was shot down first. The IL-22 tried to reach the nearest airfield, but disappeared from radar near Kerch when it lost altitude.
The reconnaissance A-50 could have been destroyed immediately after it was put on duty near the resort village of Kyrylivka. The plane disappeared from radar and stopped responding to tactical aviation requests. A Russian VKS Su-30 pilot detected a fire and crash of an unidentified aircraft.
The media reported that the IL-22 was on duty in the Striletske area and planned to land in Anapa after the alleged hit. Its pilot requested an evacuation, called an ambulance and a fire truck. The distance from Striletske and Kyrylivka to the front line is about 150 kilometers.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces said that before the information about the downing of the two planes, the occupiers were warned about the threat and that “the weather was not favorable for flights.”
It should be noted that the A-50 airborne surveillance aircraft operates as a corrector of massive missile strikes against Ukraine. The car is quite expensive – it costs at least $330 million, and an improved version costs up to $500 million. The A-50 radar tracks the locations of the Armed Forces’ aircraft and maps strategic defense facilities.
The second Il-22 is produced in two versions. The first is the Il-22PP “Porubshchik”, which sets up air obstacles and conducts alongside reconnaissance. This is an electronic warfare aircraft with modern suppression equipment. He is hunting for NATO aircraft with AWACS, radio equipment of Patriot air defense systems, and control channels for military drones.
Another modification of the Il-22M11 is an airborne command post, which is assigned to commanders of branches of the military and the leadership of military districts. The Il-22M-11 provides high-speed and secure real-time data exchange and enables efficient management of heterogeneous interspecies troop groups.
Did the planes come under friendly fire?
Some Russian military publics write that the A-50 and Il-22 aircraft came under friendly fire from Russian air defense systems. Allegedly, the “friend or foe” system did not work. This version could be believed, as in 2023, Russian air defense shot down several tactical aircraft and Ka-52 attack helicopters over the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia and left-bank Kherson regions, said Oleksandr Kovalenko, a military observer with the Information Resistance group.
But the fact is that the IL-22 and A-50 aircraft have been flying the same routes almost every day for the second year in a row, ensuring the stability of communications, control of the air environment and control of tactical aviation, the observer emphasizes.
Usually, up to six IL-22s took off from Akhtubynsk, Rostov-on-Don and Marynivka airfields, flying over Voronezh, Rostov, temporarily occupied territories of Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as the Sea of Azov. In addition, up to four A-50s took off from Akhtubynsk, Anapa, and Krymsk airfields and went on patrol in the airspace over the Azov Sea.
Even with the friend-or-foe system inoperative, all aircraft should be visually displayed on air defense radars as their own. The A-50 aircraft is so large, its speed and altitude cannot be confused with an enemy missile or fighter, the analyst points out.
A blow to the prestige of the Russian Federation
Undoubtedly, the destruction of two reconnaissance aircraft of the Russian army is an indicator of the effectiveness of Ukrainian air and missile defense systems, both in detecting targets and in defeating them. Without these planes, the potential of the Russian military intelligence management and, as a result, the conduct of combat operations will decrease, says former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, retired Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko.
“We see a blow to the prestige of the Russian VKS. The Ukrainian Air Force had to make a lot of effort to carry out an operation of this level. During the Soviet era, an entire air regiment was inventing operations against Western aircraft with the AWACS system,” the expert estimates.
The record of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is similar to the destruction of 10 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles in one massive attack. This is a world-class military achievement, he added.
Romanenko suggests that the enemy aircraft were targeted by Western long-range air defense systems Patriot or SAMP-T. It is also allowed to use the S-200 anti-aircraft missile system, developed in the Soviet Union 60 years ago.
“Definitely one of these options worked out well,” he notes.
The Soviet Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces would not have been able to accomplish the task of destroying the A-50 and Il-22 aircraft. It is very dangerous to go deeper into the area of enemy air defense systems, and in the southern regions they are very dense, said Valeriy Romanenko, a leading researcher at the State Aviation Museum of Ukraine, an aviation expert.
Ukraine’s partners have not yet handed over the Western aircraft, including the promised F-16s, and this information should be trusted, he said.
“If we analyze the capabilities of long-range SAMs, SAMP-T has a declared range of up to 100 kilometers. And Patriot has a range of 160 kilometers. Here’s a miscalculation of what could have been used to shoot them down,” the engineer explains.
The control and radar stations of the SAM could be moved to the rear by 15 kilometers. The air defense system’s radar was turned on once to hit the captured targets, and the Russian pilots did not pay attention to the corresponding signal, Romanenko suggested.
As a reminder, Russian pilots recently wondered what would happen if the A-50 were destroyed. The occupiers claimed that it was one of the most difficult targets to hit and was equal in terms of protection to an aircraft carrier.
