Ukrainian media: Kiev shot down Russian "Eye of God" A-50 over the Azov Sea

An A-50 aircraft (Photo: Wikipedia).

RBC Ukraine quoted an unnamed source in the Ukrainian military as saying on January 14 that Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian A-50 military aircraft over the Azov Sea. Another Russian military aircraft, the Il-22M, was also reportedly attacked.

The source said that the A-50 was shot down shortly after being deployed in the Kyrylivka area of ​​Zaporizhzhia at 9:10 p.m. local time on January 14. The plane apparently disappeared from radar and stopped responding to requests from tactical aviation.

According to sources, on the evening of the incident, the pilot of a Russian Su-30 fighter jet was said to have spotted a plane on fire and crashing.

Meanwhile, the Il-22M was on a mission in the Strilkove area before it was believed to have been shot down along the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov at around 9 p.m. local time. RBC posted an audio recording of what it said was a conversation between the pilot of the Russian plane and the airport controller in Anapa, Russia. The pilot called for evacuation, as well as ambulances and fire engines.

The deputy chairman of the National Security, Defense and Intelligence Committee in the Ukrainian parliament , Yury Mysiagin, announced on Telegram that two Russian planes were destroyed on the evening of January 14. However, there has been no confirmation from Ukrainian military officials. Russia has not commented on this information.

Location of the Azov Sea (Photo: US Department of Defense ).

The A-50 aircraft performed a number of important missions during Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, such as detecting air defense systems, guiding missiles and coordinating targets for Russian fighters.

The A-50 is an airborne early warning aircraft with command and control capabilities and the ability to track up to 60 targets at once. The cost of the A-50 ranges from 330-500 million USD depending on the version.

The A-50U is known as the "eye of the gods" and "giant data processing center in the air" with the ability to detect and track targets on land, in the air and at sea. The A-50U is also famous for its ability to transmit to the command center changes on the battlefield as well as direct combat and air attacks.

Built on the frame of the "workhorse" Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft, the A-50U can detect ground targets within a range of nearly 300km and air targets within a range of about 600km.

The A-50U has a dome on top, called "mushroom" by the Russian crew. It is the Shmel-M radar with a diameter of nearly 11m, including 2 antennas inside and it rotates 6 times/minute, always in search mode.

The A-50U is also equipped with a control center, which can simultaneously direct 10-12 fighters.

According to Kyiv Independent , although the A-50 plays an extremely important role, Russia only owns 8 of this type of aircraft. In case this aircraft is shot down, Russia will have difficulty if it cannot replace it in time.

Russia operates the A-50 at a suitable distance from Ukrainian air defense systems. Therefore, if Ukraine shoots down an A-50, this will be particularly noteworthy information.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/truyen-thong-ukraine-kiev-ban-ha-mat-than-a-50-nga-tren-bien-azov-20240115064825808.htm