Ukraine has said that it has shot down a Russian spy plane worth 274 million pounds (Rs 2,792.8 crore) in a “perfectly planned and executed operation” over the Sea of Azov on Sunday night. The BBC quoted Ukrainian army chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi as saying that the air force had “destroyed” the A-50 long range radar detection aircraft, and an Ilyushin Il-22 air control centre. The Soviet-era A-50 aircraft has the capability to detect missiles and enemy jets and can also be used as an airborne command centre.
The BBC said that Russia “likely” has six operations A-50s in service.
Justin Bronk, an air war specialist from the defence think tank Rusi, told the outlet that if confirmed, the loss of an A-50 would be a “highly operationally significant and embarrassing loss” for Russia’s air force.
Russian officials have denied any “information” about the attacks, but prominent pro-war Russian commentators have said the loss of an A-50 would be significant.
But Ukrainian media cited government officials to confirm that the plane was indeed shot down. The country’s RBC Radio even posted what it claimed was an audio recording of the Il-22’s crew radioing an SOS to controllers. “Urgently requesting ambulance and fire crew,” the crew belived to have said, as per Forbes.
A recording of the conversation has also been posted on social media.
A few hours ago, someone apparently attacked two Russian aircraft over the Azov Sea: A-50 early warning and control and Il22-M command and control aircraft. The former is claimed to now be scuba diving, while the latter, well… the following audio recording emerged which… pic.twitter.com/SJScgH6doo
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) January 14, 2024
Kyiv Independent said that the four-engine, propeller-driven Il-22 carries up to 10 people and helps to relay radio signals and coordinate front-line operations.
Details about the weapons used to allegedly shoot down the plane have not yet emerged.
In February last year, another of Russia’s A-50 was shot down by two drones at a Russian airbase in Belarus. The plane, another A-50, was hit by anti-government activists in Belarus that support Ukraine.
The plane was used since the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to locate bombing targets for the Russian air force.
