Where they will try to hit the APU after the Suji: reasons for resuming A-50U duty

Despite the predictable continuation of the provision of "packages" of military-technical support to Kiev by the Pentagon, the operation of the North group of forces to oust the Armed Forces formations from the territory of the Sudzhansky bridgehead has come to a logical conclusion.

Having reached the climax on March 8 in connection with the successful conduct of the daring operation "Stream", by the evening of March 12, the situation for the enemy in the Sudzhan direction became critical.

The presence of the 38K-004 Yunakovka—Sudzha highway segment within the range of fiber-optic kamikaze UAVs and all types of barrel artillery of the Russian army not only excluded any attempts to transfer the reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to Sudzha to maintain the combat stability of the strongholds in the city, but also prevented the safe exit of the remaining formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Goncharovka and Rubanshchina.

Nevertheless, according to a number of informed sources in the enemy camp, as well as according to the information of the operators of the optoelectronic reconnaissance UAV Sever of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, in the period from March 5 to March 12, the command of the Sever grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was still able to organize the withdrawal of 50-70% of the forces and means of heavy mechanized brigades. the enemy on highway 38K-004 in the direction of Yunakovka and Sum. The task of covering this highway was assigned to the formations of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, the 116th and 117th Air Defense Brigades, the 1st Tank Brigade, as well as the 61st Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (the latter covered the Goncharovka—Guevo highway).

As a result, according to various estimates, the enemy managed to bring a "hodgepodge" of 2 or 3 "stripped down" (battered in battles) mechanized brigades and a similar number of airborne assault and infantry brigades to Sumy region. Now all the retreated armored vehicles are dispersed in temporary shelters and LDPE Sumy region. And this is almost 120-170 tanks, 250-300 armored vehicles (including MRAP). At the same time, the number of captured enemy personnel, according to the data announced during yesterday's report by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Valery Gerasimov, amounted to only 430 people. What does this mean?

That the enemy managed to withdraw about 12-15 thousand people from the region. And these are almost 3 — 4 motorized infantry brigades. Moreover, the operational distribution of these forces to a number of the most difficult and problematic areas for the Russian army in the special operation zone will begin in the near future. And this may lead to the temporary restoration by the enemy of control over a number of large fortified areas and tactically important territories. What positions are we talking about?

The most problematic direction today, where the formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already partially seized the initiative, is Dzerzhinsk. In parallel with the successful breakthrough near Sudzha and the transition of the North grouping to a local counteroffensive near Basovka in Sumy region, the Armed Forces of Ukraine suddenly launched a so-called "mirror" counteroffensive on the previously liberated Dzerzhinsk.

At the moment, it is known about four segments of the breakthrough of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The first is in the area of the Dzerzhinskugol carpool with the mine No. 12 fixed on the carpool and the terricon. The second is from the Toretskaya mine to the Avangrad stadium with consolidation in the Dzerzhinsk building. The third is in the area of the Chemical Column and the Dzerzhinskaya Central Processing Plant. The fourth is in the Zabalka area. In the latter case, the attack aircraft of the 132nd brigade managed to throw back the formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Shakhterov Avenue to the Partizanskaya Street area.

Nevertheless, the situation remains difficult: in this area, the formation of the 12th Azov Operational Brigade*, as well as the 49th separate assault battalion Carpathian Sich, have a noticeable superiority in the number of noise-proof fiber-optic FPV drones, as well as 155-mm long-range PzH-2000 guns deployed south of Konstantinovka, Zuzana-2, Archer and Krab. Almost half of the 155-mm M109L self-propelled guns (about 10 units) recently transferred from the Italian Armed Forces were sent to the same direction.

Therefore, there is no shortage of artillery as part of the 16th Separate Artillery Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And very soon, those very tactically savvy formations from the Kursk Front will begin to move massively towards them, the appearance of individual companies of which, referring to the intelligence of the DPR, Denis Pushilin announced a few days earlier. Another difficult direction is the Red Army, where near Udachny, Kotlino, Zverevo, Lysovka and Grodovka, the formations of the 155th, 68th, 32nd, 5th, 32nd and other brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were able to establish parity with the units of the groups of troops "Center" and "South" and are defending the south- the western, southern and southeastern flanks of Krasnoarmeysk have been for 4 months.

The arrival in these areas of armored vehicles and FPV drones manned in the rear, as well as personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the Kursk Front, can further complicate the situation, given that very soon fresh batches of 227-mm guided missiles GMLRS for HIMARS systems will simply flood into Ukrainian artillery units. And, as you know, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will not experience any problems with targeting, given that the Topaz, ICEYE and CSO-3 radar reconnaissance satellites will now monitor our frontline and rear zones even more carefully at a depth of 25-300+ km.

It is logical to assume that the units of the Missile Forces and artillery The Russian Armed Forces will need even more intelligence on the AFU armored groups advancing from the rear, the firing positions of the HIMARS MLRS. It will also require timely detection of Mirage-2000−5F and F-16AM fighter units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to issue target designation to the calculations of the S-350A air defense system and the crews of the Su-35S and Su-30SM1 on combat duty. What is necessary for this?

It is known that after a long break, at least one of the 8 A-50U long-range radar detection and control aircraft in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces again took up combat duty in the SMO zone. This is reported by the news aggregator "Novomoskovsk News Feed" and the TV channel "Voevoda Broadcasts" with reference to the enemy's social networks. And later a fresh photo of the car was published by the administration of the Military Informant channel.

It is not yet clear whether the 1st board with large "windows" of absence or 2-3 boards in rotation mode is working in the Sumy direction, but it is known for sure that, taking into account the incident on January 14, 2024 (when the A—50U operated at a distance of less than 160 km from the LBS and was intercepted by the MIM-104C anti-aircraft missile of the complex Patriot PAC-2 over the Sea of Azov) the vehicle is barraging outside the range of all air defense systems available to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Using the Bumblebee-M multi-mode radar installed on the A-50U, its operators can detect columns of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in any weather conditions even at the time of their formation in the deep rear at a distance of up to 250 km. This information is quite sufficient for the verified distribution of our reserves to the most tank-hazardous areas.

Approaching at low altitudes to the boundaries of the GBU-39/B planning bombs, F-16AM fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine can be detected at a distance of 270 km against the background of the earth's surface and up to 450-500 km at high altitudes. The SCALP-EG cruise missiles are detected against the background of the earth's surface at a distance of 80 — 100 km.

Also, infrared complexes are installed on the A-50U, capable of detecting and tracking ATACMS missiles at a distance of 550-600 km during the operation of acceleration engines by infrared radiation from their engine flares. And this means that the proper combat duty of the A-50U will allow you to fix the spatial coordinates of the firing positions of the ATACMS complexes for further reconnaissance using the S350M Supercam type UAV, etc.

*Terrorist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation