Ukraine destroys rare Russian A-60 laser aircraft and A-100 AWACS testbeds
November 26, 2025
On the night of the 24th of November, Ukraine destroyed two very rare Russian aircraft on the ground at the major Beriev facility of Taganrog. One was a Russian Beriev A-60 laser testbed, and the other was a new Beriev A-100 AWACS aircraft, both are based on the Ilyushin Il-76 airlifter.
Ukraine destroys A-60 laser aircraft & A-100 AWACS
There is reason to believe that one or both of these two highly modified Il-76s were not operational. The A-60 has been seen in satellite images parked in that location since at least 2021, and there are reports that it hasn’t flown since 2016.
Damage to the Russian A-60 and Il-76 (could also be A-100) as well as Beriev Aviation Plant as a result of tonight’s attack. https://t.co/ffOcsrII8b pic.twitter.com/FqYb8uY5YE
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) November 25, 2025
The Russian Telegram channel, Fighterbomber, which is believed to have links with the Russian Air Force, confirmed that an A-60 and an A-100 were hit. However, it added that these were not operational and had been left there as decoys.
It is unclear what Ukraine used to strike these aircraft, but it was reportedly an attack using a range of drones and cruise missiles that Ukraine now has available to it.
This is not the first time Ukraine has struck the Taganrog facility. Earlier in the war, a strike visibly hit the main repair facility, although it could not be ascertained from the imagery whether it had destroyed or damaged any aircraft inside. Likewise, this strike also hit the main repair facility, but it is unclear if any aircraft were struck inside.
🔥 Nighttime fireworks over the Taganrog aviation plant in russia
— BAYRAKTAR 1love (@bayraktar_1love) November 26, 2025
Two aircraft are already on fire 🎥 pic.twitter.com/7b9b3b1XjK
The successful Ukrainian strike also reportedly hit a Russian S-400 air defence system. Other targets in the Ukrainian attack included the Altant Aero Plant that makes drones, the Sheskharis Oil Terminal, and the Tuapse Oil Refinery.
The defunct A-60 laser aircraft
The Soviet Union built the A-60 (based on the Ilyushin Il-76MD) to combat high-altitude balloons. According to The War Zone, the aircraft was “fitted with the carbon dioxide (CO2) laser gun, thus creating the Dreyf (Drift) system for combating aerostats.”
Its first flight took place in 1981, and the laser had a range of 25 miles. Perhaps the closest US counterpart was the experimental Boeing YAL-1 airborne laser testbed based on a converted Boeing 747-400F airliner. That aircraft first flew in 2002 before being scrapped in 2014.
Separately, in Operation Spiderweb, which saw Ukraine wipe out around 20% of Russia’s remaining operational strategic bombers, some of the aircraft targeted were clearly derelict. For example, released footage showed Ukraine targeting two parked A-50 AWACS aircraft, but these were missing engines and were clearly hulks.
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The Beriev A-100 AWACS
The A-100 AWACS is the Russian successor to the A-50U. The War Zone reported these aircraft were delayed even before the full-scale war in February 2022 due to Western sanctions already in effect.
Russia has seen two of its approximately seven operational A-50Us shot down during the Ukraine war, with the loss of all highly trained crews. More A-50Us may have also been damaged.
Russia is in sore need of its replacement Beriev A-100s, and the loss of one would be another significant setback. However, it seems more likely that the aircraft that was hit was the A-100LL test aircraft. Satellite images show the rear fuselage supports for the main radome, but the radome was not fitted.
🛞 Here comes the very serious explanation: the real reason Russia lost a large part of its strategic aviation is that, over the last three years, they got too lazy to properly cover their aircraft fuselages with tires. pic.twitter.com/hvHIjxahOy
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) June 2, 2025
Fighterbomber claimed the A-100 destroyed was built from an old Il-76 that had minimal flight hours remaining, and that the aircraft hadn’t flown since 2018.
Featured Image: Alex Beltyukov / Wikimedia Commons
