Ukraine is systematically dismantling one of Russia’s most critical military assets: its A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft. These flying radar stations provide battlefield intelligence, coordinate air operations, and help defend against incoming threats. In this video, we examine how Ukraine has targeted Russia’s shrinking AEW&C fleet, why each loss matters, and how the destruction of these aircraft could reshape the balance of power in the skies over Ukraine.
00:00 - The Importance of Air Intelligence
01:42 - Russia's Beriev A-50 "Mushroom"
03:55 - How Ukraine Destroyed the Fleet
09:30 - The Severe Strategic Impact
13:25 - Russia's Failed Replacements
15:17 - Enter the Saab Gripen Fighter
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SOURCES: https://pastebin.com/Hijg75Xq
00:00 - The Importance of Air Intelligence
01:42 - Russia's Beriev A-50 "Mushroom"
03:55 - How Ukraine Destroyed the Fleet
09:30 - The Severe Strategic Impact
13:25 - Russia's Failed Replacements
15:17 - Enter the Saab Gripen Fighter
Support us directly as we bring you independent, up-to-date reporting on military news and global conflicts by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMilitaryShow/join
#militarystrategy #militarydevelopments #militaryanalysis
#themilitaryshow
SOURCES: https://pastebin.com/Hijg75Xq
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NewsTranscript
00:00War isn't just about bombs and bullets. It's about intelligence.
00:04Armies can't operate blind. They need precise, up-to-date information to plan their next moves,
00:09to stay one step ahead of their opponents, and to avoid being caught off guard.
00:14Conflicts can be won or lost based on how well each side gathers and uses data,
00:19and that's something that Ukraine understands exceptionally well.
00:22It's the reason why Kyiv's forces have targeted Russia's intelligence-gathering assets,
00:27including not only its ground-based radar stations,
00:30but its airborne early warning and control aircraft as well.
00:34One strike at a time, Ukraine is shredding Russia's eyes in the skies,
00:38and there's nothing that the Russian President Vladimir Putin can do to stop it.
00:43Instead, he's forced to watch as his airborne early warning and control
00:47AEW&C fleet is systematically erased. The impact of this cannot be understated,
00:53as AEW&C systems are exceptionally important in modern warfare. They effectively function as
00:59flying radar stations, offering 360-degree long-range detection of enemy threats in the air,
01:06at sea, and on the ground. Many can spot targets from literally hundreds of miles away,
01:11issuing alerts to ground teams and giving them ample time to prepare for incoming attacks
01:16by taking evasive actions or readying their defenses.
01:19These aircraft also service aerial command centers, gathering and sharing the real-time
01:24information required to coordinate friendly fighters, execute precision missile strikes
01:29and bombing runs, and manage complex battle spaces. In short, they're incredibly valuable,
01:35providing the real-time data and big-picture battlefield awareness any modern military needs
01:40to succeed. And Russia has relied heavily on one specific plane to meet its AEW&C needs,
01:46the Beriev A-50. Developed as the successor to the Tupolev 2-126, which entered service with the
01:54Soviet Armed Forces in the 1960s, the A-50 had its maiden flight in 1978 and entered service several
02:01years later, in 1985. Its design was based around the Ilyushin II-76 transport plane and boasts some
02:09impressive technical specifications, including a ceiling of 40,000 feet, an operational range of over 4,000 miles,
02:16and a flight endurance of approximately six hours total, though this can be extended through mid-air refueling.
02:22The most distinctive feature of the aircraft is the 30-foot-wide rotodome that sits on the top of its
02:28fuselage, housing a large surveillance radar system. Nicknamed the Mushroom, this radar allows the A-50 to
02:34scan its surroundings and detect aerial targets at distances of up to 650 km and ground
02:42targets as far away as 300 km . The A-50 also has the ability to transmit guidance data
02:50to up to a dozen friendly jets all at once. It can, for example, provide the pinpoint location data on
02:56Ukrainian assets to nearby strike aircraft, allowing them to attack those assets without even needing
03:02to rely on their own internal radar systems. During the latter days of the Soviet Union,
03:07up to five of these planes were made per year, with more than 40 being made in total by the
03:12time the Union dissolved. Since then, production has ceased, though the Kremlin has spoken about
03:18making more A-50s in the future and has modernized its remaining aircraft over the years, equipping them
03:23with new computers and avionic systems to keep them in line with modern standards.
03:28Thus, despite being several decades old, the A-50 remains a relatively competent and capable
03:34AEW and C aircraft and has proven its worth to the Kremlin's forces on numerous occasions.
03:40It flew over Chechnya during both Chechen wars, for example, and enhanced Russia's effectiveness during
03:46the short-lived Russo-Georgian War and the Syrian Civil War. It came as no surprise, therefore,
03:52that Russia once more relied on the A-50 during its invasion of Ukraine.
03:57The Kremlin's commanders hoped that these tried-and-true airborne radar planes would help them
04:02counteract Ukrainian jets and surface-to-air missiles, while also delivering vital targeting
04:07data for the country's kinetic strike campaigns. For a while, everything went as planned. But Ukraine
04:14wasn't going to simply sit idly by and allow Russia's eyes in the skies to peek and pry on its
04:20operations.
04:20Kyiv's commanders understood full well the important role those early warning aircraft
04:25played, and as soon as they had the means to do so, they began plotting to take them out,
04:30specifically focusing on the modernized A-50U models.
04:34Russia reportedly began the war with eight of these planes in total. One was put out of action just a
04:40year into the war, on February 26, 2023. At the time, it was reported that a partisan group,
04:47the Association of Security Forces of Belarus, had carried out a drone attack and damaged an A-50
04:52aircraft at an airbase near Minsk. The attack was later attributed to the Ukrainian Security Service,
04:59SSU, and the damaged aircraft reportedly never returned to operational service.
05:04Less than a year later, in January 2024, a second A-50 was struck while on duty. The plane was
05:11flying
05:11over the sea of Azov, when it suddenly vanished from radar screens. Soon after, reports emerged of
05:17a Russian Su-30 aircraft sharing news of an unidentified aircraft catching fire and crash landing.
05:23It later turned out that this was the end result of a carefully planned and perfectly executed
05:28Ukrainian attack, which actually began several weeks beforehand. According to analysts, Ukraine's
05:34air force purposely targeted and disabled Russian radar stations across Crimea. In response, the
05:41Russians had to relocate an A-50 to the area, which brought it within the range of a Ukrainian
05:45surface-to-air missile battery. The battery then fired on the A-50, sending it to its watery grave.
05:52In short, Kiev's forces had cleverly laid a trap that the Russian plane flew right into,
05:57and they weren't done there. Only a month later, on February 23, Ukrainian sources reported yet another
06:04A-50 elimination. Once more, this reportedly occurred over the Sea of Azov, not far from Russia's Krasnodar
06:11Krai region. A long-range Soviet-era S-200 missile system fired at the plane, dealing enough damage to
06:17send it spiraling from the skies and killing 10 Russians on board, including several high-ranking
06:22officers. Ukraine maintained the pressure in the weeks that followed. In early March 2024, it carried out
06:29a drone strike on a known A-50 repair site, the Tug-and-Rog aircraft plant. Satellite images of
06:36the site showed clear damage to one of the hangars where A-50s and other specialized aircraft are stored.
06:41No further details emerged, but it's certainly possible that one or more planes suffered damage
06:47during the attack. In June 2025, the already diminished A-50 fleet was dealt another crushing
06:53blow during the iconic Operation Spiderweb strike, one of the biggest and most successful
06:58Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian soil. At the time, most of the headlines regarding the attack
07:04focused on how Ukraine had reportedly eliminated up to a third of the Kremlin's bomber fleet.
07:09One smaller but still vitally significant detail went largely unnoticed. Along with the bombers,
07:15Ukraine's drones had also successfully struck not one, but two separate A-50s during the operation.
07:21Multiple journalists and military experts shared the news, sharing satellite imagery and videos,
07:26to prove that two of the aircraft had suffered serious damage, specifically to their radar housing
07:31rotodomes. The systematic eradication of A-50s continued in November 2025, when Ukraine pulled
07:39off another enormous strike, targeting several strategic Russian military and industrial sites.
07:44This was a massive mission, undertaken by units from the rocket forces and artillery,
07:49the Special Operations Forces, Naval Coastal Missile Unit and the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces.
07:56Together, using a mixture of missile drones and Neptune cruise missiles, these forces struck the
08:01Tug and Rog A-50 repair site yet again. Multiple explosions and fires were reported at the site,
08:08undoubtedly disrupting any ongoing repairs, maintenance or modernization efforts on the remaining A-50s in
08:14the area at the time. In March 2026, Ukraine followed up with yet another attack against this specific
08:21aircraft. On March 17, to be precise, Ukrainian assets struck the 123rd aircraft repair plant in
08:28Staria Rusa of the Novgorod region. Just like the Tug and Rog facility, this location is an important
08:34piece of military infrastructure, where various aircraft are repaired, upgraded and maintained.
08:40Satellite imagery showed that there were at least nine ill-76 transport planes at the airfield at the
08:46time. These are the same planes that formed the basis of the A-50 design. Initial reports noted that
08:52there was clear damage to a maintenance hangar, and on March 20, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of
08:57Ukraine confirmed in a telegram post that another A-50 had been hit in the attack.
09:02Damage to the A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft has been confirmed.
09:07It was on the territory of the Enterprise for maintenance, and possibly was awaiting modernization.
09:13Now, before we explore the larger impacts of these attacks, and what it all means for Russian
09:18and Ukrainian prospects moving forward, if this is the kind of insight you want more of,
09:22make sure you're subscribed to the military show. We break it down like this every week.
09:28Accounts vary regarding the exact number of operational A-50s that Russia has left,
09:33but even the most generous estimates suggest that there are only a few of these planes left.
09:38Indeed, Russia's own very center for analysis of strategies and technologies, Kars think tank,
09:44states that there are no more than four A-50s available at any given time.
09:48That's not a large number, nor is it anywhere near sufficient for Russia to enjoy complete coverage of
09:53its own territory, or the regions of Ukraine its forces continue to occupy. Every time an A-50 is taken
10:00out or even put out of action temporarily, it represents a serious setback for the Kremlin's
10:05forces, because even though these planes are relatively old, they're exceptionally important.
10:11These planes have provided Russian forces with incalculable amounts of useful intelligence over
10:16the course of the conflict so far. They've helped the Kremlin's troops respond promptly to incoming aerial
10:22threats, to nullify Ukrainian drones and missiles, and to coordinate their own attacks on Ukraine's
10:27assets and infrastructure. And because they're so rare, expensive, with each unit costing around 350
10:34million dollars and no longer being produced, every loss matters so much more.
10:38Indeed, in pure military terms, taking out an A-50 isn't just like destroying a typical enemy aircraft,
10:45it's more like wiping out a massive command and control ship. In an instant, the enemy loses a vast
10:50swathe of radar coverage. Entire regions go dark, the steady stream of intelligence is severed,
10:56and countless assets, troop concentrations, and pieces of infrastructure suddenly lose one of the
11:02most important sentinels keeping them safe from the skies. The implications are enormous. A-50s see much
11:09further than most ground-based radars, for example, since they operate at such high altitude. Losing even a
11:15couple of these planes, therefore, makes it far harder for Russia to scan the skies for signs of
11:20incoming aircraft, missiles, or drones. With fewer resources at their disposal, the Kremlin's commanders
11:26also have to deal with the difficult question of how best to use the assets they have left. When one
11:31plane
11:32gets damaged or destroyed, they may have to reposition another to take its place. However, in doing so,
11:38that inevitably open up gaps elsewhere for Ukraine to exploit. It's a classic catch-22. Russia suffers
11:45no matter what it does. There are no easy answers, no workarounds. It's important to remember, too,
11:52that even without Ukraine damaging and destroying these aircraft, they're not exactly brand new.
11:57Even those that are left intact still need maintenance from time to time. Crews need to rest,
12:03planes need to be refueled, and so on. This may be why Ukraine's forces have focused
12:07some of their attacks on the very locations where these planes are often stored while not in use.
12:13Not only does this present the opportunity to damage or even destroy any aircraft that might
12:17be there at the time, but it also disrupts the core infrastructure that's necessary to keep these
12:22planes in the air, to keep them fuelled and functional. And the more A-50s Russia loses,
12:28the more cautious it's likely to be with those precious few that it still has. We're likely to see
12:33the Kremlin's commanders use these planes more sparingly moving forward. That doesn't just have
12:38a negative impact on Russia's overall radar coverage and defensive prospects, it also negatively
12:44influences its offensive capacities, too. Because even though A-50s don't drop bombs or fire missiles
12:50themselves, they provide the data that Russian strike fighters rely on to detect and pinpoint target
12:56locations. Without the A-50s to assist them, those same fighters may be forced to rely more heavily on
13:02their own radars or ground control teams, which can put them at added risk while also making
13:07them less effective. None of this means that Russia is completely blind. It still has ground radars,
13:13it still has fighter radars, satellites and other surveillance systems to help it collect information.
13:18But it is losing arguably its most important and far-seeing eyes in the sky, and that's a problem
13:24that the Kremlin seemingly has no solution for. The country has spoken about recommencing production of
13:30A-50 aircraft, but seemingly hasn't been able to find the funds or resources necessary to do so,
13:36which is likely linked to its current economic woes. Russia has also boasted about modernization
13:41and upgrade programs to its aging A-50 fleet, but its new and improved A-50Us clearly aren't strong
13:48enough to withstand Ukrainian drone and missile strikes, as several of them have already been taken out.
13:53The Kremlin also tried but failed to create a successor to the A-50,
13:57the A-100. It was supposed to gradually replace the A-50, boasting superior radar tracking technology,
14:05stronger engines and a state-of-the-art electronic warfare suite. Unfortunately for Russia,
14:10the project has been stuck in limbo for years. A prototype plane made an initial flight back in 2017,
14:16but since then, little has been heard of the A-100, except in late November 2025, when Ukrainian forces
14:23claim to have destroyed the prototype. Growing increasingly desperate, Moscow has even floated
14:29the idea of creating a brand new hybrid aircraft that would, in theory, combine airborne surveillance,
14:34maritime patrol, reconnaissance and anti-submarine into a single Swiss Army knife-style platform.
14:40According to leaked files from Bereev, the same company behind the A-50, this new plane would be based on
14:46the B-200 amphibious jet, another Russian plane with a troubled past. However, the files also show that
14:53Russia simply doesn't have the necessary components to make these planes, since the engines they need
14:58are manufactured in Ukraine, and Moscow hasn't been able to come up with a domestic equivalent.
15:03So, the A-100 was a failure. The B-200 hybrid plane is going nowhere, and that leaves Russia with
15:10just a
15:11few Soviet-era A-50s to rely on for its entire AEW and C needs. Ukraine, meanwhile, finds itself an
15:18increasingly powerful position every time it eliminates or damages an A-50. It's not just making
15:24its enemy weaker, it's actively opening gaps to exploit. And Kyiv's own aerial capabilities will
15:30soon receive an enormous upgrade, making those very gaps even easier to target. Back in October 2025,
15:36Kyiv signed an agreement with Sweden for the acquisition of up to 150 Saab JAS-39 Gripen
15:43single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft. Designed to combine strike and reconnaissance
15:50capabilities, the Gripen is widely regarded as an excellent 4.5-generation fighter, famed for its
15:56cost-effective design, low-maintenance nature, and advanced technologies, including superior electronic
16:01warfare capabilities compared to many of its competitors. One ex-NATO military official even
16:08called this aircraft one of the best warplanes on Earth. The best fighter that isn't a stealth F-22 and
16:13F-35, it could easily take on anything Putin would throw at it. On February 11, 2026, Ukraine announced
16:21plans to dedicate part of its new EU support fund to begin the procurement of Gripen fighters. And a couple
16:27months later, on April 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy affirmed that Ukraine has
16:33already begun training its own pilots on Gripen's and will expand further in the fall of 2026.
16:39If that assessment is accurate, Ukraine may soon be able to launch some of Europe's finest fighters
16:44into its skies at the very same moment that Russia's aerial forces are at their weakest.
16:49Equipped with long-range Meteor air-to-air missiles, Gripen's could be used to target and destroy Russia's
16:55fighters and strike bombers. In the past, the Kremlin was able to rely on the A-50 to track incoming
17:01threats and keep those kinds of aircraft safe, feeding them data about enemy assets that were
17:06literally hundreds of miles away, giving them a head start whenever they needed to escape.
17:10This, in turn, allowed Russia to move its strike aircraft closer and closer to the front lines,
17:15carrying out devastating bombing runs, missile strikes, and other aggressive sorties with its Su-34s,
17:22Su-35s, and MiG-31BMs, for example. But if the A-50s aren't available, those same planes will no longer
17:30benefit from those same protections. They may not know that a Ukrainian Gripen is locking onto them,
17:35or that a meteor missile is headed their way until it's already too late.
17:39This was noted in a recent Defense Express article, which states that one of the Gripen's main objectives
17:44would be to push Russian Su-34 strike aircraft, which carry guided bombs, farther away from the front line.
17:51This is why the loss of the A-50s matters so much. It's not just blinding the Kremlin's war machine,
17:57it's backing it deeper into a dark and dangerous corner from which it may never escape.
18:03Now, to learn more about how the momentum of the war is shifting ever more in Ukraine's favor,
18:08check out this video, which takes an in-depth look at Kyiv's latest offensive asset, the FP7.X missile.
18:15Alternatively, watch this video to learn how a major morale crisis in the Russian ranks is causing tens
18:22of thousands of Moscow soldiers to simply abandon their posts and opt for a life behind bars instead
18:27of fighting on the front lines. And finally, remember to subscribe to The Military Show
18:32to make sure you don't miss more videos just like this one.
18:36The Legend of the Spirit is a production of the World of the Rings
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