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Russia has likely stopped flying its A-50 early warning and control planes in support of operations in Ukraine after the downing of the second aircraft, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in its March 2 report.<\/p>\n
The Russian Air Force has recently lost two of its A-50<\/strong><\/a> planes, one in January<\/strong><\/a> and another on Feb. 23<\/strong><\/a>, reportedly due to Ukrainian attacks. One such aircraft costs around $330 million.<\/p>\n The A-50 plane provides several critical functions for the ongoing war in Ukraine, such as detecting air defense systems, guided missiles, and coordinating targets for Russian fighter jets.<\/p>\n Ukraine’s Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said on Feb. 27 that Ukrainian forces have not detected<\/a> an A-50 aircraft for days since Feb. 23.<\/p>\n Russia will likely keep the planes grounded during internal investigations into the failure to protect this highly valuable asset, the U.K. Defense Ministry<\/a> said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Join our community<\/span><\/p>\n Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.<\/p>\n Support us<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n “This is a capability gap Russia can ill afford over the contested airspace of eastern and southern Ukraine,” the ministry believes.<\/p>\n The loss of A-50 support will likely degrade the situational awareness of air crews and force Russian warplanes to take greater risks to support ground forces, the analysis read.<\/p>\n Russia recently experienced a string of airpower losses<\/a>, including 10 Su-34 fighter bombers and two Su-35 fighter jets in the last two weeks of February. One more Su-34 was reportedly shot down<\/a> on March 1.<\/p>\n According to the U.K. Defense Ministry, Russia may attempt to refit older A-50 airframes to offset the losses, as there are likely only a few aircraft currently in operation. Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said that Russia’s A-50 fleet currently includes only six operational planes.<\/p>\n Read also:<\/b> Ukraine destroyed 13 Russian military aircraft in 2 weeks. How?<\/a><\/p>\n We\u2019ve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent<\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n