The Russian military lost at least eight fighter jets in an explosion on Tuesday at the Saka airfield, which represents a small part of Moscow’s air force, but the naval aviation capabilities of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet are now significantly impaired, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said. in the Friday morning estimate.

Explosions at the Russian air base in CrimeaPhoto: video shooting

What British military intelligence says:

  • On August 9, 2022, explosions rang out at the Saksky military airfield in western Crimea. The initial cause of the explosions is unknown, the “mushrooms” seen in eyewitness video were almost certainly the result of the detonation of four open ammunition storage facilities.
  • Nearly five Su-24 FENCER fighter-bombers and three Su-30 FLANKER H multirole aircraft were almost certainly destroyed or severely damaged in the explosions.
  • Saka’s central staging area was severely damaged, but the airfield is likely to remain operational.
  • The loss of eight fighters represents a small fraction of Russia’s total aircraft fleet in support of the war. But mainly Saki was used as an aviation base of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia.
  • The naval aviation capability of the fleet is now significantly reduced. The incident is likely to force the Russian military to reconsider its perception of the threat. Crimea was probably considered a safe rearguard area.

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