Russia’s air operations to rely on ground control after A50 early warning plane damaged - UK intel

As long as the Russian A-50 reconnaissance aircraft, which was damaged in a strike at the Machulischi military airfield, is being repaired, Russia will likely rely in its air activity on ground control and fighter escort.

That’s according to the British Ministry of Defense, referring to an intelligence update, Ukrinform reports.

As noted, on March 7, 2023, President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus confirmed that one of Russia’s small fleet of A-50U MAINSTAY D airborne early warning and control aircraft deployed in Belarus had been damaged.

The aircraft was almost certainly attacked by a small uncrewed air system.

The A-50 has likely now been moved to a repair facility in Taganrog, Russia. It is reported that the transit flight took place at a lower than usual altitude, likely because of damage to the pressurized cabin.

The A-50 was likely providing situational awareness for MiG-31K FOXHOUND D fighter aircraft modified to launch the AS-24 Kinzhal (KILLJOY) air-launched ballistic missile which Russia sees a key strategic capability.

The modification involves removing the aircraft's internal radar to balance the airframe, making pilots reliant on external sources of situational awareness, such as the A-50.

"It is a realistic possibility that joint Russo-Belarusian air activity will now be forced to rely on ground control and fighter escort until another MAINSTAY can be deployed," the update wrote.

As reported earlier, on February 26, the explosions rang out at the Machulishchi military airfield in Belarus, where a Russian early warning aircraft was damaged. Oleksandr Azarov, a representative of the Bypol group, said that Belarusian partisans were behind the attack.

On March 2, Belarusian state-run media published a video of an A-50 aircraft, which had been allegedly attacked by Belarusian partisans on February 27, midair. The propagandists claimed that the plane was "intact, undamaged, and in normal service" and, according to the plan, "flew along the state border in a group, escorted by other aircraft." The Telegram channel of Alexander Lukashenko's press service even stated that the A-50 accompanied the presidential plane.

Later it became known that the A-50 flew to Taganrog for repairs.