A drone strike on Russia on 25 November hit the only plant in Taganrog capable of modernizing strategic aviation. It is also the only facility in Russia that can service A-50 airborne early-warning aircraft, says Yevhen Dykyi, former company commander of the Aidar battalion, as per Radio NV.
The attack targeted the Taganrog-Yuzhny airfield and the adjoining Beriev aviation complex. The airfield is about 180 km from the frontline. It is located in Rostov Oblast, adjacent to Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. Reports reveal that the main target was the Soviet-era A-60, a rare flying laboratory designed to test airborne laser weaponry.
Three airborne radars for the entire Russia
“They were unlucky here. Just 150 kilometers from the front line, they have a unique plant that has no equivalent anywhere else in Russia,” Dykyi said.
He recalled that, thanks to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russia now has only 3 out of its original 6 A-50 aircraft remaining. These aircraft, he noted, are “at once the ears, the eyes, the entire sensor system of their aviation.”
This makes the Beriev plant a highly vulnerable and critically important target for Russia. Following the strike, Moscow began treating these aircraft “with extreme caution.”
Old A-50s keep breaking down, and there's nowhere left to repair them
“They’re steadily wearing out. These aircraft are not just old — they’re ancient. And as soon as something starts to fail, the only enterprise that can, or perhaps could, service them is the Beriev plant,” he explained.
Dykyi added that Ukraine still does not know the exact extent of the damage.
“But some Russian online channels have even claimed that the plant no longer exists,” he added.
