(Dan Tri) – A special type of UAV produced during the Soviet Union may have been used by the Ukrainian army to attack Russian air bases on December 5.
UAV Tu-141 Strizh in Ukrainian military service (Photo: Defense Express).
In a statement released on December 5, the Russian Ministry of Defense accused Ukrainian military suicide drones (UAVs) of attacking two air bases: Dyagilyaevo in the Ryazan region and Engels in the Saratov region.
Defense Express commented that if Russia’s above accusations are true, the weapons used by Ukraine in the December 5 raid were likely Tu-141 Strizh UAVs.
This is a UAV developed and manufactured by the Tupolev Design Institute, Soviet Union since the 70s of the last century.
Initially, this UAV was designed with the mission of reconnaissance and reconnaissance of enemy activities.
With a length of 14.33m, wingspan of 3.88m and height of 2.44m, the Tu-141 has a loaded take-off weight of up to 6 tons.
The above technical parameters show that the two air bases Dyagilyaevo and Engels, located 500 and 700km from the Ukrainian border respectively, are completely within the attack range of the Tu-141 UAV.
Image taken of Russia’s Dyagilevo air base after the explosion on December 5 (Photo: ImageSat).
Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported on December 5 that a large explosion was recorded at an air base in Ryazan.
On the same day, Russian media reported that a drone crashed near two Tu-95 strategic bombers parked on the runway at Engels air base in the Saratov region.
The two bases Dyagilyaevo and Engels are the most important bases of the Russian aerospace force in the special military campaign in Ukraine.