Friendly forces destroyed an early Russian A50 fighter jet, resulting in $330 million in economic losses.
At around 7 p.m. on February 23, an A-50 AWACS aircraft crashed in the airspace of Kra, on the shores of the Sea of Azov, Russia, according to the U.S. "War Zone"**. This special fighter plane, which cost 330 million yuan, was supposed to fly in the air, but unfortunately it was shot down.
There is a ** on the Internet that has gone viral, showing that before the plane crashed, the countless infrared rays emitted by the plane disturbed the false target, like a comet streaked across the sky, trying to evade the deadly tracking of the anti-aircraft missile. But luck did not wait for him, and the missile finally hit the plane, which fell into a small mountain village in Russia like a kite with a broken string.
The Ukrainian side was quick to announce that the attack was planned by its military in conjunction with its intelligence services. But Russian news reports revealed a startling fact: the accident was entirely caused by the mistake of Russia's "friendly firepower". Such an inside story makes people have to lament the complexity of the war.
In fact, this is another heavy blow to the Russian Air Force in such a short period of time. On January 15, the Ukrainian military once again shot down another A-50 "early" fighter. After this accident, the Russian side was forced to withdraw the large early warning system over the battlefield so as not to be locked again by the Ukrainian Air Force. But even this did not prevent the precious early warning system from being taken down.
Military analysts note that given that the place where the A-50 plane crashed was in the interior of Russia, it was previously difficult for Ukrainian forces to attack the region. Therefore, the so-called "human error" report of the Russian *** is more credible. This also reflects the fierceness and chaos of the entire battle situation. Others, however, say that the Ukrainian side has used some advanced electronic tactics to give Russia's air defense system the false illusion that it is treating its allies as enemies.
In any case, this accident is a great pressure and a big test for the Russian Air Force. Now they have only about 10 A-50 early warning systems, including several recently updated A-50U. The air early warning system is the "eyes" and "ears" of Russian air power and plays a decisive role in air operations. However, since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Ukrainian army and NATO forces have tried to attack this airborne early warning system in order to reduce Russia's air power. Now that there is finally some achievement, it is definitely a huge blow for the Russians.
From this accident, we can not only appreciate the tragedy and cruelty of the war, but also deeply understand the dilemma and helplessness faced by Russia's air power. Under the double oppression of the Ukrainian army and the NATO army, they had to cope in a very complex operational condition. But even in such a difficult situation, they are still on their own positions, defending the country's airspace. Such a spirit deserves our admiration and respect.
But along the way, we've seen a lot of problems and problems. First, the Russian Air Force has only a fairly small number of early warning aircraft, which makes them vulnerable in battle and vulnerable to destruction. Secondly, due to the neglect of friendly forces, some problems have arisen in cooperation and communication between Russian military forces. With regard to the above-mentioned problems, the Russian armed forces must carry out profound analysis and reflection in order to better face the various problems that may arise in future wars.