[Military Martial Plane] Author: Lele
htmlOn August 18, many media including the domestic " Global Times " and the US "The Drive" website reported on the attack on the same day of the Russian army's airport and ammunition database on the 16th. Since the satellite pictures released by the US media are relatively clear, it is not difficult to compare before and after, and Ukrainian and Russia also responded to this matter, the general context of the whole matter has been outlined. However, due to the fact that there have been multiple explosions at another airport in the Crimean Peninsula, the explosion incident caused the damage to nearly 10 fighter jets, making this series of explosions destined to have a follow-up.
▲Related report screenshots of the Global Times
August September at around 15:00 pm, Russian Navy Aviation Army Saki Airport. Judging from the pictures and video materials taken by the outside world at that time, it must have caused devastating damage to the Russian airport. According to the comparison of satellite images before and after the explosion released by the US media after the incident, the Russian Navy lost at least 7 aircraft, with a maximum of 11 Su-24M and Su-34 fighter bombers in the explosion, which means that a regiment-level combat unit has lost nearly half of its combat effectiveness. Although Russian officials vaguely stated after the explosion that the explosion was caused by an accident, the outside world did not agree with this statement. Because it is obvious in satellite pictures, three large pits with diameters exceeding 20 meters and arranged in a staggered manner, and there are even building barriers between each other. In any case, it cannot be caused by accidents, and there must be external intervention. The Ukrainian army, who was most likely to do this at that time, refused to admit it in an official statement, which made the outside world confused and led to various speculations.
▲The violent explosion occurred at Saki Airport on the 9th
However, the truth about the explosion No. 9 has not been found yet. The Russian Navy Air Force Gvaldeskoye Airport and Zhankoy ammunition Depot have reported another news of possible explosions on the 16th. The outside world quickly believed the new news due to the actual explosion at the Russian military airport on the 9th and the losses of multiple fighter jets. The statement that the Russian Navy Air Force's more than 20 fighter jets stationed in Gvaldeskoye Airport suffered heavy losses, and the Iranian ammunition depot also suffered considerable losses has been recognized by many people. However, as the website "The Drive" was released, a large number of pictures of Gvaldeskoye Airport were surprised to find that it did not show any obvious damage after the rumor of explosion. Whether it was the apron, fuel bank or hangar, it was intact in the satellite pictures, and there was no case of heavy losses.
▲The satellite photos of Gvaldeskoye Airport on the 17th were not abnormal
However, the news of the explosion in the Zhankoi ammunition depot was officially recognized by the Russian government. However, because the Russian wording is as ambiguous as ever, the ammunition depot itself is also an indoor building, and it is difficult to observe the internal losses. Therefore, the specific losses caused to the Russian army are unknown. Just as the outside world speculated about the cause of the explosion on the 16th, a senior Ukrainian officer revealed to the US media anonymously that these three explosions (including the Gvaldeskoye Airport, which did not leave any obvious traces) were completed by special forces sent by Ukraine with the secret support of local armed forces on the Crimean Peninsula. The website "The Drive" speculates that the specific means of these armed forces attacking Russian airports and ammunition depots should be completed through explosives-mounted drones or weapons such as anti-tank missiles .
▲ Turkish TB-2 drone
Since then, various questions about multiple explosions have finally been well explained. In fact, after the explosion on the 9th, the outside world had speculated that the Ukrainian army used "Haimas" rocket launcher and "Dound-U" short-range ballistic missiles to attack the Russian military airport, but it was denied due to factors such as range and accuracy.The possibility of sending special forces infiltration has also been raised. After all, this is not a very rare method. During the 1982 Cabernet War, the British army secretly dispatched special forces to infiltrate the Argentine military airport on the island, blowing up most of the propeller attack aircraft deployed by the Argentine army (the remaining few propeller attack aircraft still pose a serious threat to British helicopters). However, this conventional method of infiltration is to sneak into the airport and place explosives to blast, and inevitably fight with the guards. Even if they can escape unscathed, the number of casualties of the defenders is destined to be a small number, which is inconsistent with the reality that the Russian army died in the explosion on the 9th.
▲The "Haimas" rocket launcher equipped by the Ukrainian army is difficult to trigger such an explosion. However, when the Ukrainian army uses drones or anti-tank missiles, and under the cover of favorable terrain close to the airport, it uses the error of the Russian military's airborne ammunition to launch an attack, then the above problems can be explained better. After the explosion on the 9th, Ukrainian officials denied that it was their own actions. In this case, it is easy to understand that the special forces infiltrated are absolutely weak after all, and confidentiality is the most effective protection measure. Ukraine hopes to continue to interfere with Russia to find the truth to protect this small-scale special forces. In fact, after the US media revealed that it was the Ukrainian special forces that completed the attack, a senior spokesperson of the Ukrainian army privately revealed that he wanted to hold the leakers accountable, which also indirectly confirmed this.
▲Russian Su-24M fighter bomber suffered heavy losses in the first explosion
Looking at the three explosions before and after, the most important reason why Russia suffered heavy losses was that it underestimated the possible infiltration operations of the Ukrainian army and did not realize that the Ukrainian army might infiltrate near the airport and then attacked with short-range weapons. Of course, the Russian Navy's ammunition was not placed properly, and the death of a death row after the attack also greatly increased the losses of the Russian army and achieved the record of the Ukrainian special forces. However, the reason why the Ukrainian attack was successful was based on the fact that the local underground armed forces supported and the Russian army was not wary of it. Now that the traces and techniques have been leaked, it is already very difficult to complete a similar attack and bring considerable results. More importantly, it is actually unlikely that the Ukrainian army would replicate this tactic in other areas without the support of local armed forces.
▲The M-777 howitzer equipped by the Ukrainian army has "because of everyone"
In other words, the Ukrainian special forces did accidentally cause a heavy blow to the Russian military aviation , but this model is unlikely to become a common situation. It is not much different from the US military's M-777 howitzer and M-142 "Haimas" rocket launcher, which performed well in the early stages of its entry into the battlefield. After being deliberately targeted, it gradually became "into everyone". After this flash of little episode, the main focus of both sides is still focused on the front battlefield.
