According to the media and the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, on January 14, a $300 million Russian A-50 Shmel aircraft was destroyed and an Il-22M11 was damaged, both over the Azov Sea, Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security (CSCIS) wrote on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.
Reports appeared on Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels on the evening of 14 January about the downing of a Russian A-50 Shmel (NATO code name: Mainstay) reconnaissance aircraft and damage to an Il-22M (NATO code name: Zebra or Coot-B), which was partially confirmed this Monday 15 morning by Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, and Ukrainska Pravda’s sources in the Ukrainian government. Information about the downing of the aircraft was also confirmed by Ukrainska Pravda sources: “A-50 for sure. Il-22 about 98% certain”.
The A-50U (coded RF-50601) disappeared from radars in the Kyrylivka area in southern Ukraine and stopped responding to requests from Russian tactical aviation at about 9:10 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. local time. Later, th pilot of a Russian Su-30 discovered “the ignition and crash of an unidentified aircraft,” RBC-Ukraine reported. Multiple Russian Telegram channels reported that Moscow lost a Beriev A-50 Shmel in a case of friendly fire late on Sunday 14, and that an Ilyushin Il-22M airborne commandpost was damaged, also above the Azov Sea. This marks the biggest Ukrainian air victory of this war so far.
The Beriev A-50 Shmel is a Soviet-era airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft based on the Ilyushin Il-76 Candid transport. Developed to replace the Tupolev Tu-126 “Moss”, the A-50 first flew in 1978. It entered service in 1985, with about 40 produced by 1992. It is used to prepare strikes and prevent enemy attacks. Russia has only 20 left of this aircraft, each of which costs an estimated $330 million, reported Radio Svoboda, the Russian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, citing government data. The enemy is not able to compensate for its loss, as there are only up to 10 or 20 such aircraft left in Russia’s arsenal.