Sky News: the AFU combat aircraft used weapons for the first time outside the new regions of Russia
A combat aircraft of the AFU Air Forces struck a target in the Belgorod region on the night of June 10, the British Sky News channel reported. This was the first case of Ukraine using combat aircraft against targets outside the new regions of Russia and Crimea. Is it true that the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian Air Force are growing, and how the situation may develop in the future - in the material of the military observer "Gazeta.En" by Mikhail Khodarenka.
For the first time, a combat aircraft of the AFU Air Force used a weapon that hit a target on the territory of Russia. This was reported to Sky News by a Ukrainian military source. According to him, "an assessment of the damage is still being carried out, but it has already been confirmed that it was a direct hit."
Speaking about this airstrike to the TV channel, a representative of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that a "Russian command post" was hit in the Belgorod region on Sunday. It is not yet clear which combat aircraft and type of aircraft weapon was used in this airstrike, including whether it was a Western weapon. Also, nothing is known about the target and the damage caused.
According to the instructions approved by US President Joe Biden, American weapons of destruction can be used to strike targets on Russian territory directly adjacent to the northeastern and eastern regions of Ukraine.
British Foreign Minister David Cameron was less specific in this regard. He simply stated that Ukraine itself must decide how it will use British weapons. For example, Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which can be launched by Ukrainian aircraft.
In addition, as reported by Sky News, Ukraine launched several strikes with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles on objects deep in Russian territory at the end of this week. According to the Associated Press news agency, an "ultra-modern Russian military aircraft" stationed at the Russian Air Force airbase almost 700 km from the front line was hit. There is no official confirmation of this information. Apparently, we can talk about the 5th generation Su-57 fighter.
A Ukrainian military source also told Sky News that on June 8 in the evening, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a "coordinated strike" on a large amphibious assault ship of the Black Sea Fleet Project 775 (according to the NATO classification Ropucha), which recently made the transition from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov.
F-16 and Mirage
As for strengthening the combat and operational capabilities of the AFU Air Forces, Ukrainian aviators are somewhat optimistic in this regard. In the near future, the first multifunctional F-16 fighters will be supplied to combat aviation. At the first stage, their number will be relatively small. We are talking about several dozen cars. But airstrikes with the help of these fighters can be quite painful for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and have a significant resonance in Russian society.
In addition to the F-16, deliveries to the Ukrainian Air Forces of French Mirage 2000-5 fighters, which can be used as carriers of air-launched cruise missiles SCALP/Storm Shadow and precision-guided bombs AASM Hammer, are becoming quite real in the near future.
Image source: Sergey Mamontov/RIA Novosti
Of course, the appearance of another Western-made fighter in the equipment of the Ukrainian Air Forces (in addition to the F-16) will cause a lot of difficulties associated with their operation and combat use (and will lead to a certain dispersion of efforts to develop this aircraft). But there is every reason to believe that these problems will not stop either the French or the Ukrainian side. They obviously have no time for discussions here.
Ukrainian KABy
Ukraine's efforts to increase the production of its own aviation weapons are organically linked to these events. In particular, Kiev plans to test its own production of adjustable aerial bombs. This was announced by the Chief of Aviation of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Sergei Golubtsov.
According to him, work is currently underway to re-equip and create their own guided aerial bombs based on conventional ones, and there are certain constructive nuances in this matter. There is reason to assume that Ukraine's own production of such bombs will be a "screwdriver assembly" of American aircraft weapons such as Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). As you know, the JDAM is a set of wings mounted in the middle of the bomb, and a tail unit with a controlled tail that allows the bomb to maneuver. There is also a computer with navigation equipment.
And even that is unlikely, since large-scale mass production of such ammunition requires a large amount of explosives, which are a big problem in Ukraine.
So, most likely, a nameplate (an information plate on which inscriptions and designations related to the marked product) "Made in Ukraine" will be screwed to the American bomb. And the combat use of these bombs is impossible without the American GPS global positioning system. So Kiev's statements about corrected bombs of its own production are greatly exaggerated.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok
