Strike on airfield in occupied Crimea: Forbes value of destroyed Russian aircraft
Forbes has assessed the value of the Russian aircraft destroyed on August 9, located at the airfield in Crimea, as being USD 650-850 million.
This is reported on the Forbes Ukraine website.
Various sources report that from 8 to 24 aircraft of the Russian army, mostly fighters and scouts, were destroyed at the Saki airfield near the village of Novofedorivka in Crimea.
The 43rd separate naval assault aviation regiment of the Black Sea Fleet is based at the airfield. Probably, it is from here that they are striking the south of Ukraine.
The Spokesman of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Yuriy Ignat said: "A few hours before the explosions, the American company Planet Labs published satellite images of the airfield - they show that more than 20 aircraft were parked near the airfield. Mainly Su-30SM fighters and Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft, one heavy military transport IL-76 and several helicopters".
Forbes estimated that before the explosions, the airfield housed aircraft worth $650 million to $850 million.
After the explosion, the photos show a significant amount of destroyed and damaged equipment, destroyed warehouse buildings. On that day, Russia reported that the planes were undamaged.
Forbes estimates the approximate cost of the aircraft of the Russian army:
Su-30SM – $50 million
Su-24MR - $6 million
Il-76 - $86 million.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia lost 9 military planes at the Saki airfield. Ukrainian Scheme investigators cite a similar number.
"If we assume that all nine lost aircraft were cheaper Su-24MRs, then the total amount of Russia's losses is approximately $55 million, and if the more expensive Su-30SMs are $450 million," the report says.
The UA Weapons Tracker open-source intelligence project estimated that at least 11 aircraft were destroyed at the airfield in Novofedorivka - five Su-30SM fighters and six Su-24MR strike and reconnaissance aircraft.
"In this case, the explosions in Novofedorivka cost Russia approximately $300 million. Intelligence agents assume that there may be more destroyed aircraft - probably, in addition to the confirmed 11, four more planes were destroyed, but this has not yet been proven," Forbes adds.
In addition, the international intelligence community InformNapalm claims that satellite images do not show all the consequences of the strike. According to their sources in Crimea, the losses are: eight Su-27s, four Su-30SMs, five Su-24s, six Mi-8s and one Il-20 for a total of approximately $380 million.
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