Made in USA Patriot air defense system was responsible for shooting down a Russian A-50 Mainstay airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft over the Sea of Azov on January 14, according to a US Army official. The high-value aircraft, one of the few Immediately Available for Russia, it was the first of two overthrows in the space of five weeks. Previously, a Ukrainian official confirmed for TWZ that the second A-50 was shot down by a Soviet-era plane S-200 (SA-5 Gammon) long-range surface-to-air missile.
Speaking on a panel at the 2024 United States Field Artillery Association Fires Symposium last weekColonel Rosanna Clemente, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army’s 10th Air and Missile Defense Command, confirmed that the first A-50 fell to a Patriot supplied by Germany system, in what she described as a “SAMBush,” or surface-to-air missile ambush.
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“They probably have a battalion of Patriots operating in Ukraine right now,” Colonel Clemente explained. “Some of them are being used to protect static locations and critical national infrastructure. Others are being transported and doing really historic things that I haven’t seen in 22 years as an air defender, and one of them is a SAMBush… they’re doing it with extremely mobile Patriot systems that were donated by the Germans, because the systems are all assembled in trucks. So they’re moving around and using these types of systems, bringing them closer to the plot… and pushing the limits of the kinematic capabilities of that system to engage the first A-50 C2 [command and control] system in January.
Fifteen crew members were supposedly killed aboard the A-50.
Colonel Clemente also provided some other interesting details about how the Ukrainians developed their capabilities with these specific systems, which included a period of validation training involving the US Army in Poland in April 2023.
According to Colonel Clemente, the German soldiers tasked with training the Ukrainians on mobile Patriot systems woke up the Ukrainian battery in the middle of the night, took them to a location where they fought a simulated aerial battle, and then marched them off again. . “I was like, ‘Huh, I wonder why they did that?’ And it was a month later that they conducted some of their first ambushes, where they shot down Russian Su-27s along the Russian border.”
How we inform at the timeThe use of the Patriot to attack the radar plane over the Sea of Azov seemed likely, especially as it followed the pattern of an anti-access and anti-aircraft campaign that Ukraine was already undertaking. fighting against Russian military aircraft using the same air defense system.
Thus, in May 2023, Ukraine began deploying Patriot batteries to penetrate deep into Russian-controlled airspace. More dramatically, a series of Russian aircraft was shot down over Russian territory which borders northeastern Ukraine. Among them may have been the Su-27s (or perhaps another Flanker variant aircraft) mentioned by Colonel Clemente.
Although the use of German-supplied weapons within Russian territory had previously led to friction between Berlin and Kiev, German authorities more recently approved the use of the Patriot to target aircraft in Russian airspace.
In December 2023, similar tactics were used against tactical jets flight over the northwestern Black Sea.
This type of highly mobile operations was later proven with the destruction of the first A-50, on the night of January 14th.
A Russian Il-22M radio relay aircraft it was also apparently attacked by Ukrainian air defenses the same night, confirmed by photographic evidence of the aircraft after returning to a Russian air base. It is unclear whether the Patriot system was also responsible for inflicting damage on this aircraft, but it is certainly a likely explanation.
Both incidents appear to have occurred in the western part of the Sea of Azov and, as we discussed at the timethe distances involved suggested that, if the Patriot were used, it would likely be at the limits of its engagement envelope.
Based on Colonel Clemente’s account, it seems likely that the Patriot system in question was not only being pushed to the limits of its capabilities, but was probably being deployed far forward in an especially bold tactical move.
As we wrote at the time: “Considering risking a Patriot system or even a remote launcher right in front is unlikely, and these airborne assets were probably orbiting at least a few points above the water, it is more likely that this shot occurred at about 100 miles, give or take a few tens of miles.
Of course, all of this also depends on where exactly the target aircraft was at the time of the fight.
Again, the A-50 shootdown may be the most important victory achieved so far by Ukrainian-operated Patriot systems, but it was part of a highly targeted campaign waged against the Russian Aerospace Forces, which apparently included several long-range shootdowns of tactical aircraft.
Ukrainian tactics were first successful in pushing back Russian air power and degrading its ability to launch direct attacks and even those using deadlocks glide bombswhich caused damage about Ukrainian cities.
The same anti-access tactics extended to Russia’s small but vital AEW&C fleet have undoubtedly had an even greater effect. After all, these aircraft offer a unique aerial image that extends deep into Ukrainian-controlled territory. In addition to detecting cruise missile and drone attacks and low-flying fighter sorties, they provide command and control and situational awareness for Russian fighters and air defense batteries. According to Ukrainian officials, radar planes are also used to direct Russian attacks with cruise missiles and drones.
The importance of these force multipliers has seen previous efforts to disable them, with A-50s in Belarus having been targeted by forces allied with Ukraine.
The recent appearance of a photograph showing a Ukrainian S-300PS The air defense system (SA-10 Grumble) marked with the A-50 symbol also indicates that previous attempts were made to shoot down these aircraft also using this Soviet-era surface-to-air missile.
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With all this in mind, it is not surprising that Ukraine’s highly valued, long-range Patriot air defense system was used against the A-50.
By demonstrating the vulnerability of Russian aircraft patrolling the Sea of Azov, one would expect the January 15 shootdown to push these assets back. This may have happened, but another specimen was then shot down in a even bigger away from the front line, on February 23. The fact that the second A-50 crashed over the Krasnodar region fueled speculation that it could have been a “friendly fire” incident.
However, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, later confirmed for TWZ than the second A-50 – as well as a Tu-22M3 backfired bomber, in a separate incident – were shot down by the Soviet-era S-200 long-range surface-to-air missile system.
No doubt there are still more details to emerge about the shootdowns of the two A-50s, not to mention other engagements in which the Ukrainian Patriot was involved.
However, Colonel Rosanna Clemente’s comments confirm that the Ukrainian Air Force is using these critical systems in a sometimes bold manner, using limited numbers of assets not only to protect essential static infrastructure, but also to loot closer to the lines. from the front and knock down high towers. -profile of Russian air targets. This not only forces Russia to adapt its airpower tactics for its own survival, reducing its effectiveness, but also provides another means for Ukraine to fight the numerical odds stacked against it.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
