In an unprecedented blow, Russia’s strategic bomber force has suffered heavy losses following a coordinated attack by Ukrainian FPV drones. Footage and images that have recently gone viral offer a first glimpse into this highly successful and complex operation, carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service (SSU) on Russian territory.
The videos from the operation targeting Russia’s strategic bombers are spectacular: from an FPV drone advancing along a lineup of aircraft on the tarmac, to another unmanned aerial vehicle flying toward its target, with columns of smoke rising from the impacted aircraft and a Tu-95MS bomber exploding.
Reports from Russia’s own Ministry of Defense confirmed that “…several aircraft caught fire…” at Olenya and Belaya air bases. The ministry also detailed that attacks were repelled at other bases, including Ivanovo Severny, Dyagilevo, and Ukrainka. On the Ukrainian side, confirmation came of a successful raid that reportedly destroyed or damaged at least 41 aircraft. While this number has yet to be independently verified, satellite imagery expected in the coming hours will allow for a more accurate assessment of battle damage.
The high-complexity special operation, named Pavutyna (“Web”), was conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine. According to Ukrainian media such as Ukrainska Pravda, the FPV drone raid took 18 months of planning and included several phases of execution.
“…The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) first transported FPV drones into Russia, followed by mobile wooden crates. On Russian territory, the drones were hidden under the lids of these crates, mounted on trucks. At the designated time, the lids were remotely opened and the drones launched to strike Russian bombers…,” reported Ukrainska Pravda.
The SSU confirmed to the outlet that “…The agents involved in this historic operation are safe and sound in Ukraine. Any arrests made by Putin’s regime will be used for internal propaganda…”.
To understand the potential impact of this latest FPV drone strike, it is enough to consider the number of aircraft the Russian Aerospace Forces had stationed at Belaya Air Base as of May 31, as revealed by satellite imagery. “…The air base hosted 7 Tu-160 (Blackjack), 6 Tu-95MS (Bear-H), 2 Il-78M (Midas), 6 An-26 (Curl), 2 An-12 (Cub), 39 Tu-22M3 (Backfire-C), and 30 MiG-31 (Foxhound)…”, according to the AviVector account on X.
The attack on Russia’s strategic bomber force reflects Ukraine’s need to suppress and destroy such assets, which have been used since day one of the conflict against Ukrainian strategic and civilian infrastructure. Kyiv has repeatedly requested Western allies to transfer weapons capable of degrading the Russian bomber fleet—requests that ultimately went unfulfilled.
Faced with this challenge, Ukrainian forces have developed the capability to operate long-range drones against critical targets inside Russian territory, achieving some damage to strategic assets in recent years. However, the latest FPV drone strike is considered a major blow to Russia’s Aerospace Forces, as bombers like the Tu-95, Tu-22M3, and Tu-160 form the spearhead of its offensive capabilities and are also part of Moscow’s nuclear triad.
With the news still developing, it is too early to fully account for the losses or assess the consequences of potentially losing more than 40 strategic aircraft. As more information becomes available, we will continue to update the scope and outcome of this unprecedented FPV drone attack.
*Developing story
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