Images that went viral today, June 9, They report that Ukrainian drones had damaged Su-57 stealth fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) inside Russian territory. The information, which was disclosed through channels of Telegramshow satellite images showing that one of the fifth-generation aircraft suffered damage while it was parked on one of the auxiliary runways of the Akhtubinsk Air Base, located in the Astrakhan oblast, located in southern Russia.
Since the conflict began with the invasion of February 2022, the participation of the new Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighters (NATO designation Felon) has been a topic of debate by various specialists. Their limited number in service with the VKS, such as drip deliveries by the UACprevent the use in greater quantities of the most modern combat aircraft of the Russian Federation.
At the beginning of the year 2023, Intelligence reports from the United Kingdom detailed that the Su-57 would have been used in attack missions against targets in Ukraine, but operating from Russian airspace to launch air-to-surface missiles.. The presence of various specimens had also been realized at the Akhtubinsk Air Base, which is the seat of the 929th Test Flight Center, and where the most recent Ukrainian attack against Russian territory would have been perpetrated.
Based on satellite images captured and viralized by the user fighterbomberwhich provides current information on the Aerospace Forces, indicated on its Telegram channel that: “yesterday the airfield in Akhtubinsk was attacked by drones. Three of them reached the target. The fragments damaged an Su-57, and it is currently being determined whether or not it can be repaired. If it cannot be repaired, this will be the first combat loss of a Su-57 in history”.
Although the images captured do not allow us to see greater details of the damage caused to the Su-57, they show the impact of one or more drones at a short distance from the fifth generation aircraft, presumably causing impacts of splinters against its fuselage.
This is not the first opportunity where Air Bases and Aerodromes located well within Russian territory are targets of Ukrainian drone actions. For example, one of the attacks recorded in August 2023 against the Pskov airport, located 700 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, would have caused damage to several transport planes. Il-76 belonging to the 12th Military Transport Aircraft Division.
There have also been attacks against other Aerospace Forces Air Bases, such as Engels, Saratov region, which was confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense itself in December 2022, damaging bombers on that occasion. Tupolev Tu-22M and Tu-95MS.
Finally, returning to the events recorded today, the Russian Ministry of Defense has not reported or issued an official statement regarding the attack, in order to deny or confirm it. However, for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, this type of attack continues to confirm their capabilities to attack military targets located within the vast Russian territory in order to undermine, with greater or lesser success, the combat capabilities of the VKS.
*News in development.
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