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Air War in Ukraine - Demise of Giants

Beriev A-50, Ilyushin Il-22M, and Il-76M. These are three large aircraft that the Russian Air and Space Forces lost during the period covered by the current continuation of articles on the air war over Ukraine. The Il-22M, in the middle of these, managed to land at a base, but its damages are so extensive that it won't return to the air.

HISTORY
Miro Barič
Air War in Ukraine
Demise of Giants
Beriev A-50U in an propaganda image from the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Il-22M tail with the designation RF-95678 riddled with shrapnel.
Beriev A-50, Ilyushin Il-22M, and Il-76M. These are three large aircraft
that the Russian Air and Space Forces lost during the period covered
by the current continuation of articles on the air war over Ukraine.
The Il-22M, in the middle of these, managed to land at a base, but its
damages are so extensive that it won't return to the air.
After a series of successful Ukrainian attacks
disabled a significant portion of the Russian air
defense radars in Crimea, the Russians deployed
the Beriev A-50 early warning and control
aircraft over the Sea of Azov from the beginning
of January. The aircraft carries a large radar
dish on its back with a range of about 600 km
against airborne targets. The plane moved along
the same route every day, flying oval patterns
with dimensions of 20 x 50 km over the sea,
culminating in the north near the coast close
to the port of Berdyansk. This mistake allowed
Ukrainians to set up a trap on the evening of
Sunday, January 14, most likely using the Patriot
system. The A-50 was shot down approximately
130 km from Ukrainian positions. PAC-2 missiles
from the Patriot system have a range of about
160 km against aircraft. A fast and well-
maneuvering fighter could likely avoid them at
such a distance. However, a slow and high-flying
target like the A-50 can be shot down even at the
edge of the range.
Firstly, it should be noted that Russia officially
did not acknowledge any loss - as always.
However, Ukrainians intercepted a report from
the pilot of a Russian Su-30 fighter, who at that
time and location observed the fall of a burning
aircraft into the sea. Russian sources state
that there were 12-15 crew members on board,
and none of them survived. Details about these
pilots gradually began to emerge on Russian
social media. The first information released was
the name of the aircraft commander, Colonel
Vyacheslav Levchenko. His wife stated that
Photos: Ukrainian
armed forces,
social media and other
public sources
INFO Eduard32
March 2024
Info EDUARD