Russia has most likely stopped flying its support aircraft in Ukraine after the loss of the second A-50, which will significantly impair its situational awareness and ability to support ground troops, and to fill the capability gap, Russia may try to return previously mothballed A-50s to service, according to an intelligence-based report by the UK Ministry of Defense, UNN reports.
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"A week after the loss of the second A-50U long-range radar detection and control aircraft, Russia has likely stopped flying the fleet in support of operations in Ukraine. This is likely to continue as long as internal investigations are conducted into the failure to protect another valuable tool and ways to mitigate the threat that Ukrainian air defenses continue to pose," the British Ministry of Defense said.
British intelligence estimated that for the Russian Federation, "the loss of this capability, which provides day-to-day command and control of Russian air operations, is likely to significantly degrade the situational awareness provided to flight crews.
"This is a capability gap Russia can ill afford over the contested airspace of eastern and southern Ukraine," the British Defense Ministry report says.
British intelligence officials state that "it is likely that Russia will have to explore options for bridging this gap, including repurposing aircraft and taking greater risks to provide the effective air support that its ground forces require but are unlikely to receive.
"This is an ongoing problem that has almost certainly been exacerbated by the withdrawal of the A-50 from support operations. Airframe and crew fatigue will almost certainly be exacerbated when the A-50 does return to service, and the fleet will be increasingly stretched," the British Ministry of Defense noted.
"It is possible that Russia may try to put the previously mothballed A-50s back into service to alleviate this situation," British intelligence suggested.