Read previewRussia has likely grounded its fleet of A-50 early warning and control aircraft after Ukraine shot down a second one in two months, the UK Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update on Saturday.
The fleet is likely to remain grounded while internal investigations take place into why the losses happened and how Russia can better combat Ukrainian air defenses, the UK department said.
The A-50 is an airborne radar system that detects enemy aircraft, missiles, and air defense systems.
They also provide daily command and control to Russian air operations and identify ground targets.
However, the recent losses had forced the Russian jets dropping glide bombs to fly further away to protect themselves, making their bombs less accurate.
Persons:
—, Justin Bronk, Yurii Ihnat
Organizations:
Service, UK Ministry of Defense, Business, Royal United Services Institute, BBC, MoD, RBC
Locations:
Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Belarus