Ukrainian Drones Devastate Russia's Bomber Fleet

The Ukrainians are nothing if not extremely clever. Over the weekend they launched simultaneous drone strikes on five Russian air bases that damaged or destroyed approximately thirty percent of Russia's strategic bomber force as well as a number of other aircraft - forty one aircraft in all. The bombers had been used to launch missiles at Ukrainian cities.

Redstate has more details:

Ukrainian special forces operatives launched simultaneous attacks on four Russian strategic bomber bases and the home port of the Russian Northern Fleet early Sunday. The attack was reportedly a year-and-a-half in the making and involved a novel means of delivery and the first use of autonomous drone swarms.

The airbases are the home to Russia's fleet of Tu-22, Tu-95M, and Tu-160 nuclear-capable strategic bombers as well as AS-50 battle management aircraft. They were located from the Siberian Far East to the Arctic Circle. The furthest target, Belaya Airbase in Irkutsk, is over 2700 miles from Ukraine.

Reports indicate that at least 41 aircraft were hit. The unofficial tally indicates 24 Tu-22, 8 Tu-95MS, and 5 Tu-16 were hit. MiG-31 fighters and Il-76 transports were also hit. To put this in context, open-source data says Russia's bomber inventory is about 58 Tu-22, 47 Tu-95MS, and 15 Tu-160. These planes are the ones used to launch most of the missiles fired at Ukrainian cities.

By any standard, this was a devastating attack. Nearly half of the Tu-22, a quarter of the Tu-95MS, and a third of the Tu-160 fleet, representing just over 30 percent of Russia's strategic bomber force, were damaged or destroyed in one attack. When you consider the operational readiness rate, Russia probably has less than 50 aircraft capable of flying.

The Ukrainians smuggled the drones into Russia and used semi-trucks to deliver them close to the bases. These trucks served as launch platforms for the drones.

This was a fire-and-forget attack. There was no need for Ukrainian drone operators to remain on the scene to manage the attacks. An autonomously targeted drone swarm hit each target. SBU operatives placed the trucks, and the rest of the operation, from first launch to the self-destruct of the transport, appears to have been carried out without a man in the loop.

This is a huge embarrasment for Russia. The lost aircraft are irreplaceable, and the security failure is humiliating. Heads will almost surely roll. Unfortunately, Mr. Putin's is not likely to be one of them.

The Tu-22 and Tu-95MS production lines are closed, and the Tu-160 production is one...per year. For all intents and purposes, this represents a permanent decrease in the size of the Russian strategic bomber fleet.

There's video of the attack at the Redstate link.