“Our drone was not alone there”
Our strike on the military airfield in Mirgorod, as a result of which six Su-27 aircraft were destroyed, became the most effective in the entire time of the Northern Military District. There is panic and bewilderment at enemy resources. What puzzled the enemy most of all was our drone, which hovered unnoticed over the Ukrainian Armed Forces airfield and recorded the arrival of our missiles. Among other things, a strike on the remnants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is also a signal to NATO curators, who really want to supply F-16 aircraft to Ukraine.
Honored military pilot, retired Major General Vladimir Popov, in a conversation with MK, told how we managed to carry out this operation. According to him, in fact, there were most likely more of our drones over Mirgorod, and the brilliantly carried out operation itself was planned for no more than a day.
Let us recall that on Monday, July 1, crews of the Iskander-M operational-tactical missile system launched a group missile attack on the parking lot of Su-27 aircraft at the Mirgorod military airfield in the Poltava region. According to various sources, five or six aircraft of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were destroyed in an open parking lot, one burned down, and two aircraft that were under repair at that time were also damaged. Personnel losses — more than two dozen of the most valuable specialists of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who were preparing the aircraft for takeoff.
The entire “execution” was filmed by our drone, which was calmly operating 150 kilometers behind the line of combat contact, which greatly infuriated the enemy. It turns out that the vaunted air defense of Ukraine overslept our intelligence officer, and he did what he wanted in Ukrainian airspace, helping to accurately direct missiles.
According to experts, this is one of the most effective attacks on Ukrainian Armed Forces airfields since the beginning of the special operation. One of the components of success: a separate team is now working on “killing” enemy airfields. And the Mirgorod airfield is not the first in its history.
Military expert Vladimir Popov, in a conversation with MK, recalled that the airfield in Mirgorod was created in Soviet times.
— Therefore, it is well known to us, including the coordinates of the runway, dimensions, airfield infrastructure — stations communications, radar surveillance systems, electrical substations, fuel and lubricants storage base.
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— The spotter — an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, which was flying at a fairly high altitude at that time, of course, did not work alone. The fact is that the long-range use of such unmanned reconnaissance aircraft is ensured by the integrated work of ground teams. Most likely, our A-50 long-range radar detection and guidance aircraft was still operating in the area of Voronezh, Rostov-on-Don or Kursk. He conducted surveillance in a certain sector of the airspace, controlled it, directed the unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and our strike forces. Therefore, an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft could evade Ukrainian air defense forces and means that could act on it.
Most likely, a few minutes before the start of the attack on the Mirgorod airfield, attacks were carried out on the Ukrainian air defense systems that guard it. The blows are delivered precisely. Multiple launch rocket artillery and electronic warfare equipment also worked against enemy air defense systems. This integrated approach ensures the life of an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, which floats over enemy territory with impunity, carries out fire adjustments or observation, conducts filming and clarifies the results of an air raid. This is the power of teamwork.
— In general, this is a difficult task. At the same time, if the operation is planned centrally, under a single command, then it is carried out easily. Each participant in the operation has his own work plan, he performs that part of the large task that is entrusted to him. If all this works in a coordinated manner, then, of course, the results are good.
That’s why they say that air and air-ground operations to destroy large strategically important targets need to be planned. These are not only airfields, which are the No. 1 target for our armed forces, but also railway junctions, highways, and places of concentration of enemy troops.
— May be. Perhaps someone saw one Orlan, but in reality, I repeat, there were probably more guys flying nearby, who at the same time created an obstacle and distracted attention. These are very important points for conducting an air-ground operation to destroy an airfield. Separate false demonstration flights are carried out, and then a sudden strike is delivered.
— Most likely, it was organized in the shortest possible time. A day or even less was given for its implementation, so that unnecessary information would not be lost.
The suddenness of actions always neutralizes the forces and means on duty. They don't have time to react. After all, the airfield in Mirgorod has its own forces and means of radar detection, direction finding, technical surveillance of airspace, technology for ensuring interaction with the air defense system, which covers not only the airfield, but also the whole city, warehouses, ammunition storage facilities, fuel and lubricants arsenals. But it is not possible to cover everything with duty forces and air defense systems. This is an expensive pleasure.
Transferring air defense forces and means to maximum operating mode, removing aircraft from attack, for example, flying to operational airfields from the main one, is not always possible in the event of a surprise attack. This did not work out for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Mirgorod.