Yesterday at Akhtubinsk airport in Astrakhan, Russia, km from the front, the Ukrainians hit (and from the satellite photos published by Gur, the Ukrainian military intelligence, it appears destroyed) a Su-57, the most advanced fighter of Russia, one of the not many that have.
This is what the purpose of striking in Russia is – not to already throw houses in Russia, as is made to believe in much of the political-journalistic disinformation debate in Italy and Europe. Although in this case it wasn’t Himars (the distance was too great), but drones with all Western components. The Su-57 is Russia’s most advanced fighter aircraft, capable of using X-59 and X-69 missiles for attacks in Ukraine (X-69 missiles were definitely used in an attack that destroyed the power plant Trypilska thermal plant in the Kyiv region, which generated more than half of the electricity in the region). Only a few units of these fighter aircraft are in service in the Russian Air Force.
Bloggers from the Russian ultranationalist military galaxy (Z) are confirming that the Su-57 has suffered “serious damage”. One way of saying it’s probably beyond repair. The cost of one of these planes, according to what the Russian media wrote when they analyzed the components, is 2.2 billion rubles (about 22 million euros). In total there would be a maximum of 15 in service with the Russian aerospace forces (including prototypes, which however are unlikely to be used in operational missions). Even if the initial projects were much more high-sounding: only Russia, the United States and China have series production aircraft of this class. For the development program, Moscow had spent 60 billion, and the Ministry of Defense planned to purchase 76 fighters, but production ran into problems and it was never known for sure how many planes were delivered to the air force.
One of the most influential Russian bloggers in aeronautical matters, “Fighterbomber”, very close to the Russian military aviation, reports the situation with sincerity (and with beloved sarcasm towards the leaders of the High Command in Moscow): «Yes, yesterday the Akhtubinsk airport was attacked by a UAV. 3 reached the ground. The Su-57 was damaged by shrapnel; we are now evaluating whether it can be restored or not. If not, this will be the first Su-57 combat loss in history. I’ll tell you again: just for the price of this Su-57, shelters from UAVs could be built for all the advanced aircraft in the country. Of course, if you don’t mistreat them along the way and not give bribes. And there would still be some left for Laos.” 2Fighterbomber” rightly points out that during the two years of war the issue of building hangars for storing aircraft was never resolved.
The Ukrainian coup will reopen a fierce discussion in Russia, which is no longer under the radar, on Russian inability to defend itself (both in air defense systems and in the hangars and camouflage of ground fighters). The Russian Aerospace Forces have repeatedly suffered losses due to attacks on airports by missiles and drones of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The first attack with Atacms in October last year caused 6.5 billion rubles in damage. even destroying 9 helicopters in a single attack.
What has Russia done with these Su-57s so far in the two years of war since the large-scale invasion? In early 2023 British intelligence reported that Su-57s were hesitant to fly to Ukraine because Moscow feared losing the newer planes, and Akhtubinsk Airport was given as their location. On the other hand, the range of the missiles they can release is such that these planes can easily strike even when flying well within Russian borders (where it has so far been more difficult for the Ukrainians to strike, both due to restrictions on the use of Western weapons and obscuration of Starlink-type satellites in Russia).
The attack in Astrakhan once again certifies that the range of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ drones is increasing. At the end of May they flew a record distance of 1,500 kilometers from Ukrainian territory, hitting a missile attack warning radar located near Orsk.
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