Russia hides its frontline Su-34s from ATACMS strikes at Engels airfield
A significant number of military aircraft, including Su-34 frontline bombers, were spotted at the Russian Engels-2 airbase, which may indicate changes in the deployment of Russian aviation due to the threat of long-range weapons, namely ATACMS missiles.
Here's What We Know
A significant number of aircraft of various types, including Su-34 frontline bombers, have been spotted at the Russian Engels-2 airbase. This data was released by OSINT researcher MT_Anderson, citing satellite images from 7 December published on social network X.
????????Engels-2 Air Base????????
- MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) 7 December 2024
50cm???? from 7 December 2024, 11:31 UTC
First time since the full scale invasion began that I've seen a substantial presence of fighters at Engels-2
Appears to be 9x Su-34 2x Su-27/30 (experts?)
A few Tu-95 Tu-160 along with the decoys also visible pic.twitter.com/F6IEAC2ewA
Among other things, the airbase is home to two Tu-160 strategic bombers and one mock-up, as well as four Tu-95MS aircraft and three more mock-ups. The most important observation is the presence of nine Su-34 frontline bombers and two Su-27/30 fighters.
For comparison, in September of this year, there were fewer aircraft at the airbase, mostly Tu-22, Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers, as well as probably the same An-12. In March 2024, the number of aircraft was around eight.
The deployment of Su-34 frontline bombers to an airbase located approximately 600 km from Ukraine may indicate that Russia has decided to partially relocate its aircraft as far away as possible from the potential threat of long-range ATACMS missiles after the US allowed their use for strikes on Russian territory.
Source: MT_Anderson
