Russian A-50U long-range radar detection and control aircraft have begun regular night duties in the air, and the number of their flights has significantly increased since late June. This was reported by foreign monitoring resources tracking the activity of Russian military aviation.

According to published data, since June 23, one of the A-50U aircraft has been performing flights almost daily at night. The routes passed through the Ulyanovsk and Samara regions, and later the aircraft began to use airfields in Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, and Perm.

During the period until August 2, monitoring services recorded about 60 sorties of this type of aircraft. On July 7, four long-range radar detection aircraft were simultaneously in the air.

According to foreign sources, the activation of the A-50U may be related to the need to strengthen air space control after the enemy acquired new FP-5 "Flamingo" cruise missiles. These aircraft are capable of detecting aerial targets at a significant distance and transmitting information to air defense systems.

Russian sources reported on August 2 that the air defense system, with the participation of an A-50U aircraft, allegedly detected and intercepted six FP-5 "Flamingo" missiles. According to these data, the targets were destroyed over several regions of Russia.

Official confirmations of the number of A-50Us in service and the exact number of combat sorties performed are not disclosed.

Earlier, "Pervyy Tekhnicheskiy" reported that at least nine strategic FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles could have been intercepted by the Russian S-400 system in the Rostov region. According to military expert Yevgeny Damantsev, 48N6DM anti-aircraft missiles could have been used to destroy the targets.