Engel's (original) (raw)

Engel's

51�26'N 46�07'E

Engel's Air Base near Saratov is one of the principal facilities hosting Russian Long Range Aviation strategic bombers. Engels-2 is a Russian air base for strategic bombers. The Engels-2 air base is a strategic bomber operations base located about 600 km from the Ukrainian border. It is located 14 km east of Saratov, 730 km southeast of Moscow, and hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Engels-2 is Russia's only operating location for the Tupolev Tu-160 (NATO: Blackjack) strategic bomber. It has been used as a launch pad for Russia's air raids across Ukraine. The base is named after the nearby city of Engels, which is named after the Communist philosopher Friedrich Engels.

In addition, a base for the elimination and dismantling of Russian Federation Air Force armaments was set up in Engel's in May 1991. Former Soviet bombers are being dismantled using American equipment provided through the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR)program. This is where the Tu-22, Tu-95, and 3-MS bombers which are covered by the START I treaty are being destroyed. Since 1991 over a hundred aircraft have been reduced to scrap at Engels. A total of 92 Russian Tu-22 bombers flew down to Engel's from Belarus, with sixty-three planes placed in temporary storage. The rest have reached the end of their service life and will be scrapped. By the end of the year 2000 a further 204 heavy bombers will be scrapped at the Engel's base (70 under international treaties, the rest because they are obsolete).

As of 01 July 1998 bombers deploued at Engel's included 18 Bear-H16, 2 Bear-H6, and 6 Tu-160 Blackjack. As of late 1999, it was reported that aircraft at Engel's included 120 Tu-22, 18 Tu-95 and 6 Tu-160.

Of the total Tu-160 bombers produced, 19 Tu-160s fell into Ukrainian hands, with the only Russian Air Force bomber regiment operating the Tu-160 based at Engels. The 11 strategic bombers and 600 air-launched missiles exchanged by Ukraine to Russia in payment for the gas debt were transfered in mid-February 2000. Two Tu-160 bombers flew from Priluki in the Ukrainian Chernigov region for the Russian air base in Engels. The missiles were sent to Russia by railroad. Three Tu-95MS bombers and six Tu-160 airplanes had already arrived at Engels since October 1999 in fulfilment of the intergovernmental agreements. Before being moved to Russia, 19 Tu-160 airplanes were stationed at the Priluki airfield and 21 Tu-95MS were located in Uzin.

By 2004 Russian Tu-95 and TU-95MS aircraft were deployed at two air bases. A total of nineteen TU-95MS16 and two TU-MS6, operating in the 121st heavy bomber air regiment, which forms part of the 22nd Air Division that is headquarteed in Engels Air Base in the Moscow region. At the Ukrainka airbase (73th Heavy Bomber Air Division) at Svobodny, there are 16 TU-95MS16 and 26 TU-95MS6 bombers that were redeployed from the Dolon airbase at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan.

The Russian strategic airbases in Dyagilevo and Engels beaome the most distant targets hit by the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the nine-month-long war. Early in the morning of 05 December 2022, the Ukrainian army carried out unmanned aerial vehicles strikes against the Russian military airfields Engels-2 in the Saratov region and Dyagilevo in the Ryazan region. A day later, another Russian military airfield, Khalino, east of Kursk, was attacked by a drone. We tell you what is known about these strikes as of the evening of Tuesday, December 6th.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that air defense systems intercepted the first two drones in the immediate vicinity of airfields in the Saratov and Ryazan regions, but "as a result of the fall and explosion of their wreckage, the hull skin of two aircraft was slightly damaged." Images that have surfaced on social media, however, indicate that in at least one case the damage to the aircraft was significant.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation also reported the death of three servicemen and the injury of four more as a result of these strikes. The statement of the Russian agency also mentions the type of UAVs used for the strike - "Soviet-made jet unmanned aerial vehicles."

The correspondent of "Komsomolskaya Pravda" Alexander Kots wrote in his telegram channel that the strikes on December 5 were carried out with the help of Soviet reconnaissance drones Tu-141 "Strizh". The ASTRA Telegram channel, citing its own sources, wrote that another Soviet jet drone, the Tu-143 Reis, could be used to attack Engels-2.

The flight range of the Tu-141 Strizh is a thousand kilometers, which is enough to defeat all three Russian airfields that have come under attack in the past two days. The range of the Tu-143 is several times less, no more than 200 kilometers, it would be enough to hit only the airfield in the Kursk region.

Radio Liberty compared Planet.com satellite images for December 4 and 6, taken in the area of ??the Engels-2 airfield. They confirm that at least one Tu-95 strategic bomber could have been damaged as a result of the strike, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, by a Soviet-made Strizh drone. Traces of foam used to extinguish fires can be seen underneath, and several fire engines are also present in the December 6 image.

Kirill Ovsiany, a journalist for the investigative project "Schemes" of the Ukrainian service of Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, also drew attention to the fact that after the strike, at least 6 strategic bombers were moved from the base in Engels in an unknown direction.

After the explosions at the Russian airfields of long-range aviation, they began to place planes more carefully there. In addition, 6 Tu-95s were moved from Engels-2. It can be seen on images by @planet, published by @cxemu. Kirill Ovsiany, a journalist for the investigative project "Schemes" of the Ukrainian service of Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, also drew attention to the fact that after the strike, at least 6 strategic bombers were moved from the base in Engels in an unknown direction.

�On 26 December at about 01:35 Moscow time (00:35 EET, � Ed.), a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down at low altitude by the air defense means of the Russian Aerospace Forces while approaching the Engels military airfield in Saratov Oblast,� the Russian Defense Ministry claimed, adding that �As a result of the fall of the wreckage of the drone, three Russian military personnel of the technical staff who were at the airfield were fatally wounded. Aviation equipment was not damaged.� Ukrainian officials neither confirmed nor denied an attack on the Russian airfield or the alleged Ukrainian involvement in it.

The last twin attack on Russia�s Dyagilevo (Ryazan Oblast) and Engels (Saratov Oblast) air bases occurred on 5 December hundreds of kilometers into Russia away from the Ukrainian border. The Russian Defense Ministry blamed Ukrainian drones for the attacks while Ukraine never publicly claimed responsibility for the strikes that damaged at least two Russian strategic bombers.

Telegram channels mass shared several videos reportedly from the Russian town of Engels, Saratov Oblast, showing the glow and sound of a powerful explosion allegedly at the strategic aviation air base, and an air raid siren going off. It came under attack for the second time this month.

New satellite images from the end of August 2023 showed several Russian strategic bombers on which soldiers have placed dozens of car tires - apparently to camouflage them from Ukrainian drone attacks. Imagery of the �Engels 2� air base in the city of Saratov show both Tupolev Tu-95MS and Tupolev Tu-160M, some of which were �paved� with just a few old tires and others with up to 100 old ones. A �protection� to which even Russian military experts reacted with a mixture of disbelief and derision.

The Russian blogger channel �Vorposten� (105,000 followers) held back with his comments. �Remarkable,� was his comment. �The Tu-95 was first seen with distorting camouflage on the fuselage and wings to camouflage itself from drone attacks. They are car tires...� The Wagner mercenary supporter and critic of the Russian Ministry of Defense �Alex Parker� (154,000 followers) did not find the massive tires on the Russian nuclear bombers funny at all. He sarcastically stated: �The TU-95 was covered with car tires to protect them from kamikaze drones. Clever! But instead of building protective walls and hangars, our defense minister preferred to build churches and plywood Reichstags. Now we have to cover ourselves from head to toe in tires.�

The Russian Federation�s Aerospace Forces [VKS] continue to assemble long-range aircraft at their Engels [Engels-2] base, Saratov Region. New satellite images from 13 November 2023 captured a total of 11 bombers. At that time there was no form of improvised drone defense in play yet, much like how the rapid-construction aircraft shelters we�ve discussed previously aren�t installed yet.


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