Ukraine’s GUR, the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, also known in English as the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, announced to have hit a Su-57 Felon of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

The attack was carried out on June 8, 2024, and the Su-57 was hit while parked on the apron of Akhtubinsk airfield in the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation, located 589 kilometers from the front.

Satellite images were also release showing a comparison between the Su-57 on June 7 and June 8: the post-attack image shows what the Intelligence service says are small craters caused by the explosions and the characteristic scorch marks on the pavement caused by the heat and flames from the explosion.

“The pictures show that on June 7th, the Su-57 was standing intact, and on the eighth, there were ruptures from the explosion and characteristic spots of fire caused by fire damage near it,” says the GUR.

The attack marked the first time in history, a Su-57 was hit.

Although the photos unequivocally demonstrate that there were explosions, it is difficult to determine the extent of any damage caused to the aircraft: the craters appear to be quite far away and it is not possible, due to the quality of the images, to assess whether the Russian 5th generation aircraft was been significantly damaged.

The successful attack and damage to the Su-57 was also acknowledged by the popular Russian FigherBomber Telegram Channel, with close ties with the Russian Aerospace Forces’ aircrews:

“Yes, yesterday the airfield in Akhtubinsk was attacked by a UAV. Three pieces arrived. The Su-57 was damaged by shrapnel; it is now being determined whether it can be restored or not. If not, then this will be the first loss of the Su-57 in history. I’ll tell you again. For the price of this Su-57 alone, shelters from UAVs could be built for all PTA aircraft in the country.”

Aircraft Protection

On February 26, 2023, Ukraine-affiliated Belarusian partisan group BYPOL, damaged an A-50U AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) by landing a kamikaze quadcopter on its radar disc at Machulishchy air base in Belarus.

Throughout the war we have observed different measures put in place by the Russians to protect their assets from the deadly Ukrainian strikes. In September 2023, Russia placed rubber “tires” on its bombers at Engels Air Base, home to the Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers, perhaps to provide added protection from drone and, possibly, Neptune missile strikes. This was because the Ukrainian Neptune, originally an anti-ship missile converted for land-strike roles, has a new thermal seeker that will not match the aircraft’s changed infrared signature, with the one loaded in its memory.

The car tires were placed on the wings and fuselage. At the time, experts said the tires could also be expected to bounce off attacking UAVs before they could hit the plane’s airframe. Even a single hit with a low-explosive warhead is enough to put an aircraft out of operation for a long time.

According to the Ukrainian sources, the the car tires were used as a sort of makeshift protection from attacks carried out with kamikaze drones a theory that we analysed here. However, since some of the bombers with the car tires on the wing had missing parts, it seemed also possible that the Tu-95s were decommissioned ones being used as decoys in case of kamikaze drones’ attacks.

More or less in the same period, another photo was circulated online. Taken from the ground at an unknown airfield showed a Sukhoi Su-34 Fullback bomber with tires on the fuselage, wings and horizontal stabilizers.

On Sept. 10, 2023, the FighterBomber Telegram channel, posted some new images, showing what was described as an anti-drone structure being fielded for test purposes at an unspecified Russian airfield.

Those mentioned above were just two “creative” ways apparently put in place by Russia to mislead the deadly Ukrainian attack drones.

Besides inflatable tanks and wooden rocket launchers, in January 2024, an image captured by Planet Labs PBC and obtained by Business Insider showed the silhouette of a combat aircraft painted on the tarmac of Mozdok Air Base in southeast Russia. Similar decoys, painted some time between the summer and fall 2023, were exposed by satellite imagery of Belbek, Gvardeyskoye and Krymsk Air Base.

The reason for using such decoys was always the same: deceive the Ukrainian drones that rely on basic cameras for image recognition of aircraft shapes.

We recently reported about aircraft shelters at Russia’s Marinovka air base in Russia’s Volgograd region, 300-km from the border with Ukraine. After Ukraine’s strikes with ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) on Crimea’s Belbek air base on May 15, 2024, and the destruction of an S-400 AD (Air Defense) system at Mospyne on May 22-23.

The attack on Belbek destroyed MiG-31, MiG-29 and Su-27 fighters, as proved by satellite images from Maxar.

Anyway, as commented in the story about Marinovka air base, it’s still not clear how the aircraft can eventually be moved in and out of the shelter, considering the maneuvering space appears to be quite limited (the light shelters occupy more than half the width of the taxiway). For this reason, there are also chances the new shelters are just decoys.

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

• SEO Powered Content & PR Distribution. Get Amplified Today.
• PlatoData.Network Vertical Generative Ai. Empower Yourself. Access Here.
• PlatoAiStream. Web3 Intelligence. Knowledge Amplified. Access Here.
• PlatoESG. Carbon, CleanTech, Energy, Environment, Solar, Waste Management. Access Here.
• PlatoHealth. Biotech and Clinical Trials Intelligence. Access Here.
• Source: https://theaviationist.com/2024/06/09/su-57-felon-hit-by-ukrainian-drone-strike/