Lipetsk Air Base Hosted russian Su-57 Before Ukrainian Drone Strike (Updated)

Overnight August 9th, Ukrainian long-range attack drones struck a russian Aerospace Forces air base near Lipetsk, located 280 km from the Ukrainian border. The raid involved several dozen Liutyi kamikaze UAVs, which managed to break through enemy air defenses and complete their mission.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces officially reported the destruction of a warehouse containing air-launched ammunition. This assessment is supported by numerous videos filmed by local residents and notifications from russian authorities about the evacuation of nearby villages due to the "detonation of explosive objects."

Read more: ​Satellite Images Show the Result of Recent Depot Fire in Crimea

The scale of destruction is evident from recordings by NASA’s fire monitoring satellite service. This event mirrors the attack on the Morozovsk air base earlier this month, where drones similarly destroyed an ammunition warehouse without a trace.

Notably, the Liutyi drones approached their target at low altitudes, complicating interception efforts by russian defenses. Despite many videos of the scene on social media, none of them shows russian air defense systems in operation. The attack was conducted in multiple waves throughout the night, with the final drones arriving in the morning.

The air base near Lipetsk is not just a standard military airfield; it serves as one of russia’s largest training centers, the 4th State Center for Aircrew Training and Field Tests, operated by the 968th Research and Instructorship Mixed Aviation Regiment. Since the start of the full-scale russian invasion, it has also hosted various tactical aviation units involved in combat missions.

This training center has been involved in training russian pilots for the Su-57 multirole fighter, which is advertised as a "fifth-generation fighter" by russia. Satellite imagery from Google Earth as of April 2023 indicated the presence of Su-57s at this base.

While russia claims that Su-57s are deployed in the war against Ukraine, it is unclear whether any Su-57s or other russian aircraft were present at the Lipetsk base during the attack or if they sustained damage. Besides Su-57, the airfield also often hosts other aircraft types including Su-30, Su-34, Su-35, MiG-31, some of them used for combat missions, while others facilitate training of pilots.

Hypothetically, if the Su-57s in Lipetsk were hit, it would be the second confirmed instance of this advanced aviation being targeted by Ukraine, following a successful attack on the Akhtubinsk airfield earlier.

Update: the Skhemy media project of RFE/RL in Ukraine published satellite images of the Lipetsk air base after the Ukrainian strike. The image below shows the warehouse area of the airfield decimated by the strikes and subsequent explosions of ammunition kept there.

Read more: Destroyed Ammo Depot at Morozovsk Airfield Highlights Secrecy of Ukrainian Drone Equipment