The saboteurs planted explosives and blew up aircraft and a combat helicopter at the Russian Chkalovsky Air Base in the Moscow region.

The press service of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported this.

The team of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation is investigating a sabotage at the Chkalovsky Air Base, which resulted in two aircraft and one helicopter being significantly damaged on September 18, 2023.

Unidentified persons planted explosives at the airfield and blew up An-148 and Il-20 aircraft (both belonging to the 354th Special Forces Aviation Regiment), as well as a Mi-28N helicopter, which had previously been actively involved in shooting down loitering munitions over the Moscow region.

The images point to the area near the centerline as the site of the explosion on both aircraft. According to the intelligence agency, the significant damage to the aircraft does not allow them to be returned to service quickly.

It is known that the helicopter’s tail beam was damaged by the explosion. One An-148 was severely damaged, and another, which was parked nearby, was minorly damaged.

Government and military aircraft, including strategically important special reconnaissance aircraft and air command posts, such as IL-80, also known as “doomsday aircraft”, are known to be stationed at the airfield.

Given the types of aircraft based at the airfield, the facility had to be subject to serious control and protection. Accordingly, it remains a mystery how unknown persons managed to penetrate and execute the sabotage.

On November 1, 2022, a sabotage was conducted at the Veretye military airbase in the Pskov region.

At the time, the unknown persons entered the airfield and blew up two Russian Ка-52 attack helicopters. Two more aircraft received significant damage as a result of the explosion.

IL-20

The hit Il-20 belongs to the category of reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed in the Soviet Union on the basis of the Il-18 passenger aircraft by integrating the ELINT station and a radar surveillance station located under the fuselage.

It is known that since the 1970s, only 20 such aircraft have been manufactured, of which only a part have been modernized and operated to this day. In September 2018, the S-200 anti-aircraft system mistakenly shot down one of the functioning Russian aircraft in Syria.