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I hope the DoD and military are taking good notes…

https://kyivindependent.com/enemy-bombe ... -aircraft/

Welcome to a new era, where asymmetric warfare, guerrilla warfare, and terrorist attacks are no longer carried out with AK-47s and IEDs, but with cheap cruise missiles and kamikaze drones.

It is pretty incredible, 41 aircraft claimed... many assumed to be hi value. They only have (had) about 10 A-50's and it seems they got another one or more!. Hopefully a more complete list will be published, just looking at the video released it looks like 5 or 6 Bear bombers burned up. I hope they got some 160's and 22's.

Bigger picture, this should be a WORLD WIDE wakeup call. Airbases (and to a slightly lesser degree, Naval bases) are AT RISK the world over. Hardened shelters and drone defense will be a must for any airbase that hopes to survive. Surprise attacks will have a new and difficult to defend aspect. Interesting and a bit worrying.

Defense drones or die.

Pics from Belaya AB by Chris Biggers.

Pretty daring strike. The mission planning, technology development and execution of the mission rival the Israeli beeper operation against Hezbollah. Infiltrating containers loaded drones into the enemy territory and setting them near strategic aviation bases is a pretty bold move and the Ukrainians pulled it off.

Apparently there was a fifth target, Ukrainka Afld in the Far East but, the container exploded before the drones launched.

https://x.com/theinformant_x/status/1929202544800301189

Wonder how the Russian's will respond...

Tcao wrote: Mon Jun 02, 2025 12:48 am Welcome to a new era, where asymmetric warfare, guerrilla warfare, and terrorist attacks are no longer carried out with AK-47s and IEDs, but with cheap cruise missiles and kamikaze drones.

I've seen anti-drone devices that can handle swarms, but the question of how many and where as well as funding is anyone's guess. The biggest hurdle may be legal and bureaucratic. The recent UAVs that caused a stir on the East Coast exposed a real problem. People were asking why doesn't the military shoot them down? When asked a commander of an airbase replied that aside from the risk of collateral damage to nearby civilian structures and lives and then there is a question of legal jurisdiction.

Within the confines of a military installation a base commander may have legal jurisdiction, but once you're outside the military installation who's legal jurisdiction is it? If there is nearby water ways then it could be a completely different issue as the control and responsibility would fall under a completely separate agency or multiple agencies.

As demonstrated by the Ukrainian attack they drove right up to the airbase. If this happened in America you may have multiple legal boundaries involved under the control and responsibility of multiple agencies. The potential issues are obvious and you can have the best anti-drone defense available, but time of initial detection and warning is critical.

Drive up next to or close a base and launch while under jurisdiction of a civilian agency and once they cross into a military installation it becomes a military problem and you have the recipe for a problem.

Welcome to the brave new dysfunctional world. Drones, cyber threats and 3D printers everywhere with how to instructions readily available.

Can we try to keep some semblance of limited politics in this forum? Its been fairly calm when compared to other parts of the internet. It only takes one idiot to ruin it for everyone. There are plenty of places to spew all you want around the web. At least try to show some restraint. Just as a common courtesy to the rest.

Short video explaining the attack, by AiTELLY.


https://video-s.twimg.com/amplify_video ... -XxJYT.mp4

thewood1 wrote: Mon Jun 02, 2025 10:08 pm Can we try to keep some semblance of limited politics in this forum? Its been fairly calm when compared to other parts of the internet. It only takes one idiot to ruin it for everyone. There are plenty of places to spew all you want around the web. At least try to show some restraint. Just as a common courtesy to the rest.

This was a military and technology post, not a political one. The source may have been political but that seems to be only because they had the best information.

rvseydlitz wrote: Tue Jun 03, 2025 12:32 pm

thewood1 wrote: Mon Jun 02, 2025 10:08 pm Can we try to keep some semblance of limited politics in this forum? Its been fairly calm when compared to other parts of the internet. It only takes one idiot to ruin it for everyone. There are plenty of places to spew all you want around the web. At least try to show some restraint. Just as a common courtesy to the rest.

This was a military and technology post, not a political one. The source may have been political but that seems to be only because they had the best information.

He edited it and took out the opinion.

Ahh that makes sense then. My apologies

The total damage is still being tallied.

https://www.twz.com/air/latest-on-russi ... ne-strikes.

It will be a while before we know the full extent, but second order impacts are already evident - truck phobia...

Long footage of the drones attacking ACs.


https://video-s.twimg.com/amplify_video ... vy6rVw.mp4


x7 - Tu-95
x12 - Tu-22M3
x2 - A-50 AWACS
x1 - An-12
x1 - Il-78M

What the future holds.

https://youtu.be/VQk4Nmd4BXg

Nikel wrote: Wed Jun 04, 2025 1:58 pm Long footage of the drones attacking ACs.


https://video-s.twimg.com/amplify_video ... vy6rVw.mp4


x7 - Tu-95
x12 - Tu-22M3
x2 - A-50 AWACS
x1 - An-12
x1 - Il-78M

It seems likely that the A-50's were hangar queen spare parts bins and not operational. That number of Tu-22Ms seems high https://www.twz.com/air/firm-evidence-o ... ne-strikes - the Drive says 4 not 12. Who knows.

Even if it is only 4 Backfires, that still represents nearly 10% of the fleet.

The numbers are the ACs attacked by drones or not even that, that shows the video.

Yes, read somewhere that the A-50 where without engines? And in the video one of the drones seems to land in the dome, still a symbol

The best way to know are the sat pics, but even of those, some are AI creations.

According to Jane’s analysts, 22 ACs destroyed/damaged, still far from the 41 claimed by the SBU.






And another assessment by the IIISW.




New video released by SBU productions, one single drone from take off to impact on a Tu-22M3, Belaya AB.


https://video-s.twimg.com/amplify_video ... CDCZxy.mp4

Yeah

Numbers are starting to congeal
Perun had applied his analysis to the attack with some good underlying implications, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPXs2wDv4Kc

All told, it is a significant hit on the bomber inventory.

One video shows a drone moving over some Tu-22m before finally landing on one (just right of the vertical stabilizer extension) before the video cuts.

It is touted as a "new video showing a Tu-22 being destroyed". There is just a video cut. So...we can assume the drone exploded, but no more.

Of more interest, is that the drone's video shows, as it orbits its target Tu-22m, that the aircraft is missing its left horizontal stabilizer. That's a major item. In no way was that an airworthy aircraft. (I don't know how long it would take to procure and install a replacement horizontal stabilizer, but it's a major piece.)

FWIW

(Ukraine still pulled off quite the coup, but the numbers are not what they claimed.)