Photos have emerged showing the extent of the devastation Morozovsk Air Force Basein Russia’s Rostov region after it was hit by Ukrainian forces late last week, an incident you can read more about here . Earlier satellite imagery had confirmed that the base had been hit, and a secure storage facility in its northwestern corner had been badly damaged. Now we can see that, as the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff had suggested, the airport’s weapons storage facility had indeed been destroyed.
The series of photos showing the aftermath of the Morozovsk attack appeared on social media and were likely leaked by one or more personnel at the air base or by people later involved in the recovery.
The extent of the damage is significant: the secure weapons depot has been almost completely destroyed and none of the old buildings are still standing.
What remains are the remains of air-launched munitions and other supplies carried by Russian tactical fighter jets — primarily the dozens of Su-34 Fullback attack aircraft, but also other forward-deployed Flanker-series fighters — operating from the air base. The significant amount of munitions stored here also appears to have caused large secondary explosions elsewhere on the base.
In particular, there are examples of the KAB-1500L laser-guided bomb, a weapon that is far from new, but is rarely seen. Equipped with a semi-active laser seeker, the KAB-1500L—which comes in a number of subvariants—is a remarkably heavy precision-guided weapon, with a nominal weight of over 3,300 pounds.
Unguided munitions include examples of the standard FAB-500M-62 1,100-pound high-explosive bomb and the ODAB-500 fuel-air explosive (thermobaric) bomb. These free-fall weapons have been widely deployed by Russia in its war in Ukraine, and both have also been modified with precision guidance/glide sets for improved accuracy and longer range.
It also appears that at least some of the aircraft bomb remains are examples of the P-50 series of training supplies, rather than front-line weapons. The most important of these is the P-50T, used for crew training and which produces both a flare and smoke on impact.
Photo of a destroyed Russian ammunition storage facility at Morozovsk air base.
This photo is impressive, but most of the bombs in the photo are P-50T (П-50Т), old Soviet practice bombs that were filled with easily flammable smoke components. photo.twitter.com/Bfgnt0iBL2— Frederic Gras (@fredgrs) August 6, 2024
There is also evidence of defensive equipment used by the Su-34 (and other aircraft types), namely the R-73 (AA-11 Archer) heat-seeking air-to-air missile and the Khibiny wingtip-mounted electronic warfare pod, which you can read more about here.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claims that an Su-34 was also destroyed in the attack and another damaged. This is confirmed by satellite images showing another part of the vase. However, the limited resolution means that this cannot be confirmed.
The attack on the Morozovsk air base, which is believed to have involved the use of long-range drones, was announced on Saturday by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“Hits were recorded in ammunition warehouses, where guided bombs were stored in particular,” the General Staff said on Telegram. “Information about the destruction of air defense equipment and enemy aviation equipment is being clarified.”
The General Staff said the attack was carried out by the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Service (GUR), the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In our previous reporting on the attack, we reviewed satellite imagery that showed evidence of extensive grass fires and damage around the weapons cache.
Morozovsk Air Base is located about 240 kilometers from the front lines. being attacked repeatedly by Ukrainian drones. At least three such operations have been carried out in the past three months.
The latest attack on Morozovsk is a continuation of Ukraine’s campaign of drone attacks and sabotage activities against several Russian air bases, particularly those playing a key role in the Ukrainian war.
Large explosions at the Russian military airfield in Morozovsk, Rostov region. 270 km from the front line. Russian Su-34s are stationed in Morozovsk. photo.twitter.com/P9NX3HR7xc
— Special Kherson cat
(@bayraktar_1liefde) August 3, 2024
The secondary explosions coming from the Morozovsk airfield and seen on several videos are substantial. This is heavy ammunition going off. It will be interesting to study the satellite photos. photo.twitter.com/eGTN1719Pr
— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) August 3, 2024
Ukraine has long prioritized such attacks as a way to counter Moscow, as the country wages its own missile, drone and airstrike offensive against Ukraine.
It is clear that the Morozovsk weapons depot was a very valuable target for Ukraine. It not only deprived Russia of important anti-aircraft defenses, but also caused secondary explosions that caused considerable destruction.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
