Ukraine has repeatedly targeted the Belbek airfield of the russian invasion forces in the occupied Crimea, and in response to these strikes, the Kremlin started to build fortifications and other protective structures for aircraft, primarily to shield them from attacks by simple yet effective long-range suicide drones, as evidenced by recently released satellite imagery.
An increased effort as of late was noticed by The War Zone: journalists showed fresh images of the Belbek airbase for December 19 depicting about 10 fortifications in total at various stages of construction, also one fortified building with an unclear purpose, and additional lattice structures for light shelters.
Read more: Kremlin Wants Aircraft Shelters But Building Them Won't Be Cheap or Simple
Building shelters for aircraft is relevant for both the russian federation and Ukraine, and while the latter's progress remains out of view, russia's steps are clearly visible by comparing satellite images of the key airfields. Based on analysis of this imagery, back in May 2024, Defense Express concluded that the only airbase where protected hangars were built in advance was the Marinovka Air Base in the Volgograd region, 450 km from the border.
These shelters, however, didn't prevent Ukrainian long-range drones from hitting the ammunition stored at this airfield later in August, causing an explosion and fires on the location.
Against the backdrop of the drone attack threat, russians came up with a plan for creating defensive structures at military airbases, announced by russian defense minister Belousov in late July 2024. Notably, the strategy was presented as a grassroots initiative from the milbloggers, especially the most passionate aircraft shelter advocate, the infamous Fighterbomber.
It seems that only recently russia has finally decided to take this issue more seriously after Ukraine was granted permission to use ATACMS and Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG missiles for strikes on russian territory.
Multiple satellite images published this fall, for example, reveal a large-scale construction work at the Khalino military airbase near Kursk (see video below), as well as at Krymsk Air Base.
As highlighted by The War Zone, russians are currently building at least 70 shelters overall. In addition to the above-mentioned locations, construction has unfolded at Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Yeysk, Morozovsk, Millerovo, and, according to recent reports, at Belbek airfields.
Read more: The An-72 Military Transport Aircraft Was Severely Damaged in Moscow Region (Video)
