Two military transport planes flew to the Belarusian military airfield “Machulishchi” from the center for servicing long-range radar surveillance aircraft.
This was reported by the monitoring group “Belarusian Guyun”. This may be additional evidence that the A-50 was damaged.
Military transport aircraft Il-76 (RF-86843) and An-26 PKS of Russia arrived at the Machulishchi airfield on the evening of February 26 – on the day of the sabotage with the A-50U DRLS aircraft, the message says.
On the morning of February 27, the Il-76 flew to the Russian airfield “Ivanovo-Severny”, where the 610th center for combat use and retraining of flight personnel, an aviation technical base and the 308th aircraft repair plant are deployed.
The monitoring project notes that it is in the 610th center that A-50 DRLS aircraft are stored, modernized and repaired. The Il-76 military transport aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces (RF-86843) is listed behind the 610th center.
On February 28, an An-26 aircraft also flew to the Ivanovo-Severny airfield.
A-50 early warning aircraft damaged.
Belarusian Gayun notes that satellite images from July 2022 show that at least 9 AWACS A-50 aircraft are in storage at this airfield and another one is under repair.
Two Il-76 military transport aircraft belonging to the 610th center flew to the Machulishchi airfield in July 2022, when the A-50 radar station was located there.
“These facts are an indirect confirmation of the technical problems that arose with the A-50U DRLS aircraft, which was damaged on February 26 as a result of sabotage by Belarusian partisans,” the analysts add.
The transport Il-76 could deliver specialists or a set of spare parts for the repair of the A-50U radar to the Machulishchi airfield.
Attention! According to the monitoring project, during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, at least four A-50 radar aircraft (RF-50608 – located in Belarus now, RF-50610, RF-94296 and RF-9 ).
Briefly about the sabotage and damage to the A-50U radar
- On February 26, powerful explosions thundered at the Machulishchi military airfield near Minsk. The public organization of former Belarusian security forces BYPOL reported that a Russian military transport aircraft was damaged as a result of the explosions.
- According to Belorussky Gayun, the target of the attack was an A-50 PKS RF airborne early warning and control aircraft.
- The head of BYPOL Alexander Azarov said that Belarusian partisans were involved in sabotage in Machulishchi. They allegedly attacked the plane with drones. After the operation, the partisans, according to Azarov, left Belarus.
- The Kremlin refused to comment on the explosions in Machulishchi, Minsk is also silent.
