Ukrainian Drones & Missiles Have Blown Up Nearly All of Russia's Crimea Attack Jets

The 43rd Maritime Attack Aviation Regiment may be down to three planes out of 24

A Russian Su-24 about to get droned in Crimea. Prymary capture

Ukrainian missiles and drones are driving the Russian navy’s Black Sea fighter and bomber regiment into extinction.

The 43rd Maritime Attack Aviation Regiment, based at Saky air base in Russian-occupied Crimea—100 miles from the front line in southern Ukraine—went to war in February 2022 with 12 Sukhoi Su-30 fighters and 12 Sukhoi Su-24 bombers.

The jets fly bombing raids against Ukrainian installations on the Black Sea and also hunt Ukraine’s drone boats.

After a drone from the Ukrainian special forces’ Prymary unit struck an Su-24 on or just before Friday, the regiment is—according to observer Capt. Wild Bill Kelso—down to as few as one Su-30 and two Su-24s. At most, the regiment still has just three of its original Su-30s and five of its original Su-24s.

Yes, the Russian navy could restore the wing—but probably not to its original state. The Su-30 is still in production; the older Su-24 isn’t. More to the point, the steady attrition of Crimea-based Russian warplanes underscores the prowess of Ukraine’s deep-strike drone units.

Russian aircraft are not safe on or around the peninsula. And not just the naval strike jets from the 43rd Maritime Attack Aviation Regiment. On or just before Thursday, Prymary struck a Mikoyan MiG-29KR—formerly embarked on Russia’s decrepit aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov—at Kacha airfield in Crimea, 20 miles south of Saky.