Belarusian partisans damaged A-50 at Machulishchy
On February 26, Belarusian partisans BYPOL reported in their Telegram channel that they damaged A-50 at Machulishchy airfield, disabling a russian occupiers’ reconnaissance aircraft. This long-range aircraft can detect air defense positions from altitude, making it a highly effective tool for gathering intelligence on military targets. Specifically, while russian bombers attack Ukrainian cities, the A-50 attempts to hunt for Ukrainian air defense systems. In other words, it’s the “eyes” of russian aviation.
The Operation
The operation took place in the morning using two drones at the Machulishchy airfield in Belarus. Here’s a quote from BYPOL’s Telegram channel:
As a result of 2 explosions, the front and central parts of the aircraft suffered damage, the avionics and radar antenna took hits. The damage is serious — the aircraft definitely won’t fly anywhere anymore. The incident occurred while snow removal equipment was working near this aircraft.
According to BYPOL leader Oleksandr Azarov, the rebels who organized the operation have already successfully left Belarus and are currently safe abroad.
The special operation executors told Ukrainian intelligence services that two drones worked at the airfield. The drone that recorded this video landed on the A-50 aircraft fuselage, then exploded, damaging the radar equipment as a result. The second drone filmed this process, then landed on the russian reconnaissance aircraft’s radar and also exploded.
Preparation and Execution
According to Belarusian partisans’ information, this aircraft managed to complete 12 combat sorties before taking damage. They prepared the operation for a long time — reconnaissance alone took about two weeks. During one of the successful reconnaissance operations, a drone not only flew into the guarded territory of the specified airfield and flew near the russian A-50U AWACS military aircraft but even landed on its radar station (“dish”).
When partisans confirmed that the airfield security lacked sufficient qualifications and experience, they conducted the operation. They equipped two DJI drones with explosive devices containing 200 steel balls each. This is enough to pierce the aluminum skin of the antenna housing and damage the phased array and microwave equipment. Also, aircraft of this type have a huge number of bundled wires under the skin. According to the partisans’ claims, repairing the A-50 antenna is impossible — it requires complete replacement. This can only be done at the plant in Taganrog.
Official Confirmation
Air Force Command spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat confirmed the damage to the A-50 aircraft (quote):
The damage to the russian A-50 reconnaissance aircraft at the Belarusian ‘Machulishchy’ airfield is good news for Ukraine, because this aircraft helped the russians conduct military operations against Ukraine.
In particular, this aircraft conducts radar reconnaissance of Ukrainian territory, scans the operation of air defense systems and detects where they are located, and also tracks takeoff, landing and flight directions of our aviation. This very aircraft accompanies cruise missile attacks on Ukrainian territory.
These aircraft are very important for conducting military operations, and Ukraine would also like to have such aircraft that would also support the actions of our aviation and reconnaissance.
According to spokesperson Ihnat, russia has about 9 reconnaissance aircraft. And we hope that the damaged A-50 at Machulishchy is the first but not the last one to go down.
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