The Demise Of Russia's Aircraft Carrier Stranded Dozens Of Special Sukhoi Fighters. Now They May Have Joined The War In Ukraine.
A Sukhoi Su-33 was on the ground as a drone struck Yeysk air base in southern Russia.
Overnight on May 15, a long-range drone from the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces flew at least 150 miles to Yeysk airfield in southern Russia and blew up a parked Beriev Be-200 flying boat.
Yeysk is the home of the Russian navy’s 859th Center for Combat Application and Crew Training for Naval Aviation. Previously, a Ukrainian drone may have damaged another (or the same) parked Be-200 at the base back in April 2024.
A Be-200 is a valuable target. There are just 15 or so of the twin-jet flying boats in Russian service. But sharp-eyed observers noted something else interesting in the 1st Center’s footage of the May 15 nighttime raid on Yeysk.
They noticed a Sukhoi Su-33 carrier fighter parked near the Be-200. The Russian navy has around 30 of the twin-engine, supersonic Su-33s. All belong to the 279th Shipborne Assault Aviation Regiment based in Murmansk.
