According to the Ministry of Defense of Great Britain, since the beginning of the criminal war unleashed by the Kremlin against Ukraine, the occupying army of the Russian Federation has lost more than a hundred aircraft.
What is known about the numerous aviation losses of the Russian army
The British Ministry of Defense noted that the destruction of the Tu-22M3 supersonic bomber of the Russian army is probably another success of the Ukrainian military.
This is the first time when a strategic bomber was shot down by Ukrainian air defense systems. It is quite likely that Russia has already lost at least 100 aircraft, the British Ministry of Defense emphasized.
With what kind of missile could Ukraine shoot down the Tu-22M3
According to the reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, military expert Roman Svitan on Channel 24, it is unlikely that the S-200 air defense system was able to intercept the Russian bomber at a distance of more than 300 km from the border with Ukraine.
Svitan noted that the missile that shot down the plane was most likely modernized.
The real range of the S-200 missile is approximately 250 kilometers, the technical range is 300 kilometers. At a greater distance, it will simply fall to the ground.
The missile could be modernized by increasing the power of powder accelerators — these are 4 "mini-rockets" that lift and accelerate the S-200. If they were strengthened, and this is possible, then another 50-70 kilometers could be added to the weapon, the analyst suggests.
But the most important thing is that the ship is destroyed, one of the crew members, probably the commander, died, three others are injured.
It will take a long time to restore such a crew. Retraining people is long and expensive, because it is a heavy 100-ton aircraft. Just to spend a sufficient number of flight hours in the air, 50 tons of aviation fuel will be needed — this is very expensive, — explains Svitan.
