Just 130 kilometers from the front line: deployment site of another Russian A-50 aircraft discovered. Satellite photos

The Planet service has spotted another Russian A-50: the enemy long-range radar detection and control aircraft is located just 130 km from the front line.

This was reported by Skhemy and published satellite images obtained through the Planet service. As can be seen from the location, the Russian aircraft is located in the city of Taganrog, Rostov region of the Russian Federation.

Planet Labs satellite photos from February 29 show that the "fat bird" is deployed at the Taganrog-Pivdennyi airfield. It is located almost 130 kilometers away from the combat line in the Donetsk region.

A-50 is an airborne command post used by the aggressor state for long-range radar detection in the war against Ukraine.

According to investigative journalist Kyrylo Ovsianyi, this aircraft, or an aircraft of this type, was also photographed at the Taganrog airport in September 2023 and on February 15 this year.

However, it was not seen at the airfield on February 28. This may indicate that the occupiers were actively using the aircraft for its intended purpose on that day.

On the evening of February 23, a Russian A-50U long-range radar detection and control aircraft was shot down over the Sea of Azov. The downed aircraft crashed in the Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation. It was a joint operation of the Main Intelligence Directorate and the Air Force.

Before the full-scale invasion, Russia had only nine such aircraft: three A-50s and six A-50Us.

A-50 and A-50U aircraft are used by the occupiers to detect and track air and surface targets, alert command posts of automated control systems of the armed forces about the air and surface situation, control fighter and strike aircraft when they are guided at air, land, and sea targets, and serve as an air command post.

The A-50 airborne surveillance aircraft are very valuable to the Russians. They adjust strikes during massive shelling of Ukraine and are worth at least $330 million.

It was believed that these aircraft could not be shot down. However, the Ukrainian Defense Forces first shattered this stereotype on January 14 when they shot down two Russian occupation aircraft over the Sea of Azov. An A-50 long-range radar detection and control aircraft was shot down, and an Il-22 was damaged.

The occupiers have not been using A-50 aircraft for several days. Obviously, the enemy has drawn appropriate conclusions after losing two such aircraft over the past two months. This was stated by the spokesman of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yurii Ihnat.

The spokesman reminded that since the beginning of the full-scale war, the aggressor has suffered three losses of A-50s. In particular, last February, Belarusian partisans disabled such an aircraft at the Machulishchi airbase (Minsk region of Belarus).

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