According to the Drive, the russian military in the temporarily occupied Crimea has intensified the flights of their Be-12 maritime patrol aircraft.
For example, on August 7, one Be-12 was spotted flying over the coast of occupied Crimea. On August 9, 2022, eyewitnesses filmed the flight of 4 Be-12 aircraft at once, exactly when the explosions took place at the Saki airfield on that day. 4 days later, on August 13, russian Be-12s were spotted near Lake Donuzlav.
Read more: Ukrainian Air Defense Shot Another Handicraft Drone
The authors of The Drive used the Planet Labs satellite images, which show that as of the end of July 2022, 7-8 Be-12 type aircraft were based at the Kacha airfield in Crimea, and two more units of this type were dismantled. They are part of the 318th separate mixed aviation regiment of the Black Sea Fleet of the russian federation. So, about 4-5 Be-12 aircraft are in operation.
Ukrainian Navy does not have submarines, so the direct combat value of russia’s Be-12 amphibious aircraft against Ukraine is almost zero. Therefore, as the authors of The Drive assume, now the russian occupiers in Crimea are raising their military aircraft into the air (the Be-12 was adopted as early as 1968) to perform three possible tasks.
The first is to support the flight skills of Be-12 crews. The second is the monitoring of ships along the grain corridor to the ports of Great Odesa.
And the third, most important thing is the hunt for saboteurs who arrange explosions at russian military facilities in the temporarily occupied Crimea.
Read more: Thanks to the USA, Ukraine Can Receive Additional Mi-24 and Mi-35 Helicopters from One of Europian Countries
