British intelligence doubts Russia's ability to defend its airbases against drones

Increasing drone attacks on Russian airfields again raise questions about Moscow's ability to protect strategic facilities deep inside the country.

On August 19, 2023, a Tu-22M3 BACKFIRE medium bomber of Russia’s Long Range Aviation (LRA) was highly likely destroyed at Soltsky-2 Airbase in Novgorod Oblast, 650 km away from Ukraine’s border, the British Defence Ministry said in the daily intelligence review, Caliber.Az reports.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 22 August 2023

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The Russian Defence Ministry said that a copter-style uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) was responsible for the attack.

If true, this adds weight to the assessment that some UAV attacks against Russian military targets are being launched from inside Russian territory. Copter UAVs are unlikely to have the range to reach Soltsky-2 from outside Russia.

Russia has frequently used BACKFIRE bombers to launch the notoriously inaccurate AS-4 KITCHEN heavy anti-ship missiles against Ukraine. Early in the war, they also carried out the intense bombardment of Mariupol using unguided bombs.

This is at least the third successful attack on LRA airfields, again raising questions about Russia’s ability to protect strategic locations deep inside the country.