A-50 aircraft damaged in Machulishchi sent to Taganrog
Russian A-50 reconnaissance aircraft based at Machulishchi military airfield in Belarus flew to Taganrog for repairs, Zerkalo reported on Friday, March 3.. This information was confirmed to journalists at the reception of the Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex named after GM Beriev, where they called under the guise of an employee of the Machulishchi airfield.
At the reception of the complex, which includes the 325th Aviation Repair Facility, which, in particular, repairs A-50 aircraft, they noticed that the aircraft with the tail number 43 had indeed arrived. “Zerkalo” published a transcript of this telephone conversation: “I am calling you about the repair of the A-50 aircraft, which came from Belarus. My superiors told you to clarify the details …” – “A-50? You have the 43rd side in mind? – <...> – “Is this exactly the plane from Belarus?” – “Yes, yes, the one who arrived yesterday.”
During the conversation, the journalist from Zerkala received several telephone numbers at the reception, through which it was possible to clarify the details of the repair, but none of them were answered, says the publication.
Explosions at the Belarusian military airfield in Machulishchi, near Minsk, occurred in the morning of 26 February. The association of former Belarusian security officials BYPOL reported that, as a result of the sabotage, a Russian A-50 military early warning and control aircraft (AWACS), used to guide missiles against targets in Ukraine, was seriously damaged. According to BYPOL, the explosions damaged the front and middle sections of the A-50, as well as the radar antenna.
According to the Belarus Gayun group, the AWACS A-50U aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces with registration number RF-50608 arrived in Belarus on January 3, 2023. In 54 days he made 12 sorties. Its previous arrival on Belarusian territory was recorded on February 24, 2022. In total, the Russian Aerospace Forces have 9 such aircraft, of which 6 are improved, activists write.
Source: DW
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