The A-60 was designed during the Cold War to target high-altitude balloons and reconnaissance aircraft.
Ukrainian forces reportedly destroyed a major Russian aviation plant in the city of Taganrog overnight, taking out the country’s only laser-armed A-60 aircraft. This Soviet-designed airborne laser weapons platform can be distinguished by its unique “hump.” Based on footage captured of the attack’s aftermath, the silhouette of the A-60 appears clear. While Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces issued a statement saying that the complete destruction of the laser testbed jet was highly likely, more satellite imagery is required for complete confirmation.
Kyiv’s barrage striking Taganrog, which is co-located with the Taganrog-Yuzhny military airfield, demonstrates the nation’s continued efforts to take out Russia’s aerial assets. This military airfield remains the primary facility of Moscow’s Beriev Aircraft Company, which is known for its contributions to the development of special-purpose aircraft, including the A-100 and A-50 AEW&C platforms and the A-60. Additionally, Russia’s Tu-95MS Bear-H strategic missile carriers and Tu-142 Bear-F/J long-range maritime patrol planes are also maintained at this location. Russia’s greatest advantage over Ukraine is arguably its aerial fleet. Despite the fact that many of Moscow’s existing airframes originate from the Soviet era, they still pose a significant threat to Kyiv.
About the A-60
The A-60 was designed under the former Soviet Union to primarily target high-altitude balloons and reconnaissance aircraft. Additionally, the aircraft was intended to blind optical sensors mounted on satellites. The original A-60 prototype first took to the skies in 1981, featuring a laser equipped with a 25-mile range. As detailed by The War Zone, “The targeting system consisted of a Ladoga radar with an upward-directed five-foot-diameter Cassegrain antenna fitted under a large bulbous fairing in the aircraft’s nose and a laser locator. A balloon could be detected and tracked from 31 to 44 miles.”
For nearly two decades, the A-60 concept appeared to be sidelined, partly due to the collapse of the USSR. While Moscow temporarily revived testing in 2009, little information surrounding the testbed jet was publicized by the Kremlin until 2016. At this time, Russian state-run media outlet TASS indicated the A-60 was again being revived with emerging technologies. As detailed by an adviser to the deputy of Russia’s Concern of Radio-Electric Technologies, Vladiir Mikheyev, the improved testbed jet is capable of destroying enemy targets with a high-accuracy laser. “It will boast super-accurate navigation. The crew are to be able to precisely determine the plane’s position to direct the narrow laser beams at the selected targets,” Mikheyev said, adding, “I believe that it will carry a combined complex of radio-electronic warfare with some Vitebsk and Khibin components and a number of other effective protection systems.”
Though the A-60 had not flown the skies for years leading up to the overnight attack, the fact that the aircraft had not been scrapped and had been receiving periodic maintenance at the airfield suggests Russia had further plans for the platform. Based on Ukraine’s attack, however, any potential A-60 activity in the future has been decimated.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, national security writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues. Carlin has bylines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
Image: Alexxx1979 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
