AdvertisementBut these were pinprick attacks designed to embarrass the Kremlin and demonstrate that nowhere in Russia is safe from Ukrainian attack.
The aircraft didn't appear to catch on fire, suggesting the damage wasn't catastrophic, perhaps to be expected from small drones with small warheads.
The Akhtubinsk attack suggests that Russian electronic warfare capacity has sufficient breadth to cover the front, but not depth to protect the Russian interior.
Much like Russia's vaunted T-14 Armata, the Su-57 has been conspicuous by its absence from the Ukraine war.
AdvertisementEven with American-made F-16 fighters arriving soon, Ukraine's air force probably can't drive off Russian jets lobbing glide bombs from 50 miles behind Russian lines, safe behind ground-based air defenses.
Persons:
Justin Bronk, Bronk, Su, Michael Peck
Organizations:
Service, Russian Air Force, Kyiv, Royal United Services Institute, Russian, NATO, West, Stealth, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn
Locations:
Russia, British, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Volgograd, Stalingrad, Russian, Forbes