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Ukraine’s air force said it has shot down another Russian A-50 spy plane.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
The A-50, a crucial aircraft for Russia, detects incoming missiles and identifies ground targets.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Ukraine previously said it shot down a Russian A-50 in January.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Ukraine’s air force<\/a> said it shot down another Russian A-50 spy plane on Friday.<\/p>\n CNN<\/a> shared a video that it said appeared to show the moment the A-50 was downed.<\/p>\n The A-50<\/a> is a crucial spy plane that allows Russian to detect incoming Ukrainian missiles and identify ground targets.<\/p>\n The radar early-warning plane has been a “key enabler for Russian operations over Ukraine providing airborne early warning of threats as well as command and control functionality,” according to British intelligence, as Business Insider previously reported.<\/p>\n In mid-January, Ukraine said it shot down another Russian A-50 spy plane over Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region on the same day it also said it shot down an Ilyushin Il-22 airborne command post.<\/p>\n After the January loss of the spy plane<\/a>, which British intelligence said likely exploded and crashed into the Sea of Azov, Russia appeared to deploy another A-50, only this time over land, according to the UK’s Defense Ministry.<\/p>\n “This activity is highly indicative of a reduced risk appetite for the airframes and an attempt to preserve remaining A-50 Mainstay at a loss to its overall effectiveness over Ukraine,” the agency said.<\/p>\n Missile-defense expert Gustav Gressel, from the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Business Insider’s Natalie Musumeci and Sin\u00e9ad Baker at the time that losing a rare A-50 would be “a significant loss” for Russia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Ukraine said it shot down six Russian aircraft in just three days<\/a>. On Monday, Ukraine said it shot down two Russian aircraft, a Su-34 fighter-bomber and a Su-35S fighter jet. That came after Kyiv said it had shot down three Su-34s and one Su-35 over the weekend.<\/p>\n Read the original article on Business Insider<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n