After months of discussion, the first F-16 planes will arrive in Ukraine and Kiev will be able to use them to bomb targets in the territory of the Russian Federation. Nothing new in these words for Russian strategists. And this is not good news for Moscow. Just like Kiev, the regions of the Russian Federation do not enjoy protection for their warplanes and this from now on puts the air fleet in danger.
At the Marinovka airfield near Volgograd, a “post-Soviet country”, according to Russian social media sources, with “often modest military budgets”, they built aircraft shelters. And today satellite images of new hangars at the airfield in the Volgograd region appeared.
Also in the same social sphere we read: “In fact, this is the first example of the appearance of such protective structures in more than two years of hostility. However, there are some important points to note. According to our data, their construction began not even in the past, but in the distant 2022. The shelters were designed for the threats relevant at that time, when there were no mass raids by drones, much less missiles from cruise”.
“Satellite images show the characteristics of the location of the hangars which, taking into account the size of operational-tactical aircraft, make taxiing difficult. And above all: the structures are a completely private initiative of the staff and a thoughtful sponsor, who built them according to his own not unlimited means and capabilities.”
“With all this, one cannot fail to note the advantages of such shelters in the form of at least increased secrecy in relation to enemy satellite reconnaissance, as well as protection from bad weather. Which is definitely better than nothing. However, so far there is no talk of centralized construction of reinforced concrete shelters or hangars at Russian airports.”
The Marinovka buildings are almost an isolated example and arose thanks to sponsorship. In other places, expensive planes are still parked helplessly in open areas and flight crews are forced to relocate to other airports.
According to the Russian social sphere, politics is to blame for the lack of Hangar and therefore from Shoigu upwards. “I would like ministries and departments to at least now reconsider the fundamental refusal to build shelters for aircraft. Especially before the appearance of F-16s by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and discussions on lifting the ban on Western cruise missile attacks on the “old” Russian regions.”
Graziella Giangiulio
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