Recent reports indicate a significant setback for Russia's airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) capabilities, following the loss of two A-50U aircraft. With an original fleet of nine A-50M/U planes, Russia's operational capacity is now reduced to six. The destruction of these two aircraft is a critical blow to Russia, which relies on these for round-the-clock surveillance and defense. The Chief of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence has stated that Russia would be forced to halt the continuous duty of its A-50 planes if another loss occurs. In response to these setbacks, the Russian Armed Forces are attempting to supplement their diminished AEW&C capabilities with reconnaissance drones, deploying over 100 drones in the last 24 hours. This shift comes as Ukraine has successfully downed two A-50s in just over a month, highlighting the ongoing challenges Russia faces in maintaining its aerial surveillance operations.
⚠️ The Russian Armed Forces are trying to replace the destroyed A-50 with reconnaissance drones. 👀 Over the past 24 hours, more than 100 drones of this type have been recorded. https://t.co/2LGgsfA3XG
What do all three A-50U AEW&C aircraft that the Russians have lost have in common? In total, as of September 2023, the Russian military had 9 modernized A-50U. At least five of them were in Belarus at different times during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Moreover, all… https://t.co/aGn2aiCKCI
Insane that Ukraine has downed two A-50s in a little over a month. https://t.co/6b7gc7B4c1
Russia only has six A-50 spy planes left: Kyiv https://t.co/HCnvNx36VL https://t.co/CSRW40rFFM
😁 Russia will be forced to stop round-the-clock duty of A-50 planes if another one is lost – Chief of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence https://t.co/L5UI5lnYmU
COMMENT RUSSIAN A-50U LOSSES, FEB 25 2024 How to solve the Russian AEW capacity? Two Russian A-50U AEW&C aircraft has recently been destroyed. Since Russia only had 9 A-50M/U aircrafts, now down to 7, it's a serious loss. Production of the modern A-50U or the replacement A-100 is… https://t.co/Hw60xoyaiv