Russia turns to A-50U and Su-57 Felon as drone hunters amid strained air defences
With Russia’s strained air defence network now unable to cope with the vast numbers of Ukrainian drones, Russia is turning to two of its most valuable air assets for drone defence. New reporting and videos suggest its A-50U and Su-57 Felon are now being used as drone hunters.
Ukrainian drones target the farthest oil refinery
Last week, Ukraine launched a drone attack at the Omsk Oil Refinery in Siberia using updated FP-1 one-way attack munitions. This was a distance of around 2,800 to 3,000 kilometres for the Ukrainian drones.
Ukraine’s Fire Point CEO Iryna Terekh stated, “The Omsk refinery had remained one of only two refineries in the top 10 that had never been hit by Ukrainian drones.”
According to the OSINT account, DroneBomber, the Russian city of Kazan was the last point where Russians “still had any meaningful air defense coverage and radar tracking.”
DroneBomber noted that after the Ukrainian drones passed Kazan, “all information about them disappeared.” Russian channels reported they were “lost.” This suggests Russia was unable to track or engage them past that point.
While Russia has some of the most formidable air defence networks in the world, it is cracking. Ukraine is straining the air defence network by attritting valuable air defence components (Buk, Tor, Pantsir, S-400/300) seemingly daily and attacking a broader range of targets across Russia, forcing it to spread its strained air defence out thinner.
Satellite imagery of the aftermath of the attack on the Omsk Oil Refinery
— Dnipro Osint (@GarbuzYe) July 7, 2026
🛑 At least three impacts have been identified on the pipe racks and process columns of the CDU-VDU-11 (ELOU-AVT-11) unit. The actual number of impacts is higher, likely exceeding five. Coordinates:… pic.twitter.com/4vkIAO5Ri1
Making matters worse, Ukraine is attacking St. Petersburg and Moscow, targets Russia considers unacceptable. This is forcing Russia to pull more air defence assets from vital areas of the front and from defending important strategic assets to protect these cities.
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Tasking Russia’s limited fleet of A-50U AEW&Cs aircraft
Russia entered the war with only around seven or eight operational upgraded A-50U AEW&C aircraft. Over the course of the war, two have been shot down with total loss of crew. An undetermined number more have been damaged.
In February 2023, the British Ministry of Defence stated Russia only likely had around six remaining in service. It is unclear how many remain in service in 2026, but Defense Express claims the number is “no more than four” in mid-2026.
While the A-50U fleet was designed to help in shooting down enemy aircraft, it appears Russia has been tasking one of its remaining A-50s in an anti-drone role.
With Ukraine firing its drones over a large range and with it too dangerous for the aircraft to fly near the line of control, the aircraft has become valuable as a flying quarterback for drone defence.
Yesterday, Russians raised an A-50 into the sky over Omsk to repel an attack by Ukrainian drones on the refinery, but even that didn't help. https://t.co/3IQ4HkeKpg pic.twitter.com/Mp8f3srSPX
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) July 7, 2026
AEW&C aircraft are able to see farther than most sensors and are able to communicate with a large number of platforms (like the Su-57). Critically, they are able to see a low-flying object 200 miles away that would be hidden behind the curvature of the Earth to a ground-based radar.
Ukraine’s missiles (e.g., FP-9 Flamingo) are designed to fly ultra-low.
Russia using Su-57 Felon as a drone hunter
The Su-57 appears to have been given the task of drone hunter and has been seen attempting to intercept Ukrainian drones as they fly to attack Russian targets.
✈️ Su-57 in the sky of Omsk hunts Ukrainian drones. Only one shot down. All the others hit the target. pic.twitter.com/R137Jg2DoX
— MAKS 26 🇺🇦👀 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) July 6, 2026
In early July, The War Zone noted imagery of a Russian Su-57 with an unusual external weapons load of short-range air-to-air missiles as well as a new targeting pod.
The War Zone stated, “We may just have gotten our first close look at a Su-57 equipped to counter the Ukrainian kamikaze drones and cruise missiles.”
About a week later, videos emerged appearing to show Felons attempting to intercept Ukrainian drones. The OSINT account, MAKS 26, captioned one such Su-57 video: “Su-57 in the sky of Omsk hunts Ukrainian drones. Only one shot down. All the others hit the target.”
While many observers had high expectations of Russia’s new Su-57 fighter jet, its performance has been somewhat lackluster. The older (and mature) Su-35 still appears to be doing more of the air superiority work, including reportedly shooting down a Ukrainian MiG-29 last week.
Other notable occurrences of the Su-57 during the war in Ukraine include an incident in 2024 when it shot down its own malfunctioning off-board S-70 Okhotnik drone.
Ukraine also appears to have damaged or destroyed a limited number of Su-57 airframes on the ground with drone attacks in 2024 and 2026 (the Oryx blog lists one visually damaged).
Overall, Russia has been cautious with how it employs its still immature prestige new fighter jet. It has conducted standoff missile strikes (e.g., Kh-69 cruise missiles) from safer Russian airspace and some air-to-air roles.
Featured Image: UAC
