Satellite images confirm the destruction of a Tu-95 at the "Engels" airbase – Defense Blog
Kyiv • UNN
Satellite images from Planet Labs dated July 19 show a likely destroyed Tu-95 bomber at the Engels-2 airbase. Analysts at AviVector recorded catastrophic damage to the tail section of the aircraft.
Satellite images published after the attack on the Russian airbase "Engels-2" may confirm the destruction of a Tu-95 strategic bomber. This is reported by Defense Blog, writes UNN.
Details
According to the publication, the AviVector analyst community released commercial satellite images from Planet Labs dated July 19, which show what appears to be a completely destroyed Tu-95 bomber on the runway of the "Engels-2" airbase in the Saratov region.
Defense Blog notes that this could be the first independent visual confirmation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement about the destruction of the aircraft during a Ukrainian drone attack.
According to AviVector's analysis, the strike hit the rear part of the aircraft, causing a massive fire and critical damage to the fuselage. In particular, the tail section was completely torn off up to the internal weapons bay, indicating catastrophic damage.
The Tu-95 is a strategic turboprop bomber that Russia uses to launch Kh-101 cruise missiles at Ukrainian territory. The aircraft has long been out of production, so its loss, as Defense Blog notes, is irreversible for Russian long-range aviation.
According to the Oryx project, which only counts losses confirmed by photo and video evidence, since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has lost at least 10 Tu-95MS bombers. The latest probable loss at the Engels airbase has not yet been included in this statistic.
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