[THEORY] How Ukraine Took Down Russia's Rare, Valuable Warplanes

Recently, Ukraine announced that it took down two of Russia's rare and valuable warplanes. The Ukrainian military said that it destroyed these advanced Russian control and command aircraft.

Ukraine's military chief announced the war achievement on Monday, Jan. 15. But, people familiar with the defense effort said that Russia's warplanes were shot down on Sunday night, Jan. 14.

However, Ukraine didn't share the exact details, such as what counteroffensive weapon it used or the strategy it relied on. Now, a military analyst shared his theory.

How Ukraine Took Down Russia's Rare, Valuable Warplanes

Tom Cooper, an American aerial warfare analyst and historian, said that Ukraine could have formulated a complex missile trap strategy against Russia to take down the rare and valuable warplanes.

He said that Kyiv's missile and radar crews lured their Russian enemies into a trap. Cooper explained that if his theory is correct, then the Ukrainian military most likely set the trap on Jan. 13.

The American warfare expert believes that Ukrainian air force jets, especially Sukhoi Su-24 bombers, attacked Russian air force installations across the Crimean Peninsula, which is occupied by Russia's forces.

"A number of radars were knocked out," explained Cooper via the latest report of Forbes.

Because of this, Russians were unable to detect the missile attacks that Ukrainians were able to launch against them. Cooper said that this complex trap also allowed Kyiv to save its precious Patriot missiles.

"All Ukrainians had to do was to secretly deploy a suitable SAM system to target the two aircraft from long range," said the American military analyst.

Tom Cooper speculated that Ukrainians might have used the S-300 SAM (surface-to-air missile) or the PAC-2/3 SAM systems.

"It is also possible that Ukrainians have deployed a launcher and a radar, plus power-supply equipment, from one of their three PAC-2/3 SAM systems ... in combination with one of their S-300 radars," added Cooper.

Russia Warplanes Shot Down by Ukraine

The Associated Press recently reported that the Russian warplanes that Ukraine successfully destroyed are a Beriev A-50 and an Il-22.

The Beriev A-50 is an early warning and control warplane used by Russia to spot targets up to 650 km away. Meanwhile, the Il-22 is a key command center aircraft, which can relay information to Russian soldiers who are operating on the ground.

Destroying these two advanced Russian warplanes is a big achievement for Ukraine since the Ukrainian military has been making drastic efforts to counter Russia's aerial dominance.