The Beriev A-50 is the backbone of Russian air operations over Ukraine.
Ukrainian commanders claim to have downed a Russian Air Force Beriev A-50 "Mainstay" airborne early warning (AEW) platform in what appears to be a major success for Ukraine’s ground-based air defenses.
The A-50, an AEW conversion of the Ilyushin Il-76 airlifter, is understood to have been shot down over the Sea of Azov on Jan. 14, possibly by a Patriot missile system.
Along with the A-50, Ukraine is also claiming to have downed an Ilyushin Il-22M—an airborne command post conversion of the Ilyushin Il-18 airliner.
However, imagery posted online on a Russian Telegram group on Jan. 15 shows an Il-22M’s vertical stabilizer and rear fuselage peppered with shrapnel holes after apparently making an emergency landing at an airfield near the city of Anapa on Russia’s Black Sea coast.
Another Il-22M was shot down by the Wagner Private Military Company in June 2023 during its attempted “March for Justice” on Moscow, a rebellion ordered by the company’s owner Yevgeny Prigozhin against senior military figures.
The A-50 is the backbone of Russian air operations over Ukraine. The platform is capable of providing radar data of air activity over the conflict zone and beyond.
The type has been involved in the air war from the start of the conflict in February 2022 with at least two examples operating from Belarus, although the A-50 may have been withdrawn from that country after a Belarusian rebel group was able to demonstrate they could fly and land drones on top of the AEW aircraft's rotodome housing its radar. Claims that the same group was able to damage one of the aircraft have never been confirmed.
The shootdown may be the first combat loss of an AEW platform since 1969, when a U.S. Navy Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star—an AEW conversion of the Super Constellation airliner—was shot down by North Korean MiGs.
In November, British intelligence officials had suggested that the A-50s would have to operate closer to the conflict zone so they could help support ground-based air defenses.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces, thanked the Ukrainian Air Force—which controls the air defense systems—for an “excellently planned and conducted operation in the Azov region,” hinting that the A-50 may have been ambushed.
Aviation Week previously reported that Russia had just 10 airworthy A-50s—including seven upgraded A-50Us—operated by a single squadron that is tasked with AEW across the Russian Federation, making a single loss a significant reduction in capability.
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