Four aircraft were added to the eight stationed: satellite images of the Engels-2 airfield in Russia appeared online. Photo

The Engels-2 airfield in the Saratov region of the Russian Federation has recently been replenished with additional aircraft. This is the main bomber base and the only place in Russia where Tu-160 strategic bombers are stationed.

It is from Engels-2 that Russian planes with missiles take off to hit Ukrainian cities. Satellite images of the airfield, as noted by the Monitoring intelligence community, indicate that the fleet has been replenished.

As of February 26, there were five Tu-95MS and three Tu-160 aircraft at the airfield. "There are no significant changes in the airfield's composition. There are regular trainings of the aircraft and their movements," the scouts said. In addition, recent images showed one Tu-95MS at the repair site (without two engines; as of July 27, both engines were installed).

However, in the evening of February 27, four Tu-22Ms arrived at the airfield. It is known that the planes arrived from the Olenya base.

Tu-22M (in Russian it is "product 45", in NATO codification it is Backfire) is a Russian supersonic missile carrier and bomber with a variable wing. It can carry nuclear weapons.

The Russian occupation forces have reduced the intensity of the use of A-50 long-range radar detection and control aircraft. Apparently, the enemy has drawn appropriate conclusions after losing two such aircraft over the past two months. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the aggressor has suffered three losses of A-50s.

In particular, last February, Belarusian guerrillas damaged such an aircraft at the Machulishchy airbase. And in 2024, the Ukrainian Air Force shot down a Russian A-50 and an Il-22 over the Sea of Azov on January 14. In addition, on February 23, the Defense Forces reported the downing of an occupier's A-50U.

Before the start of the full-scale war, the Russian Federation had only nine reconnaissance aircraft: three A-50s and six A-50Us. The occupiers use them to adjust strikes during massive shelling of Ukraine, and one such aircraft costs at least $330 million.

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