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Ukrainian Strike Levels Unique Russian AWACS Testbed, Alongside Secret A-60 Laser Jet
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Fresh satellite imagery released by a Ukrainian OSINT researcher, Dnipro Osint, confirms that Ukraine’s overnight strike on Taganrog destroyed not one, but two rare, high-value Russian aircraft at the Beriev aviation complex—one of them a one-of-a-kind laser weapons testbed, according to the analyst on November 25.
The blast wave and subsequent fires at the Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex (TANTK) wiped those aircraft out.
As a result of the night attack on Taganrog, two aircraft were destroyed on the territory of the Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex named after Beriev:
— Dnipro Osint (@GarbuzYe) November 25, 2025
- A-60, an experimental flying laboratory, a laser weapon carrier based on an aircraft
- Il-76 transport aircra pic.twitter.com/03ZQ1iXB2s
An A-60 airborne laser laboratory—a Soviet-era Il-76 modified to carry a megawatt-class combat laser intended to blind satellites and disable aircraft.
In addition, an OSINT researcher pointed out that an A-100 air-borne early warning platform (without its radar dome)—Russia’s long-troubled attempt to replace its aging A-50 AWACS fleet.
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Imagery also shows that TANTK’s final assembly shop sustained heavy damage, and a nearby S-400 air-defense position took a direct hit, though the extent of that damage is harder to determine from orbit.
Defense Express previously described the A-60 as one of Russia’s most unusual aircraft—a flying testbed with a distinctive nose radome and dorsal housing for its laser turret, built in only two prototypes. One of those prototypes had remained parked at Taganrog for years. Ukrainian analysts now say it was the airframe visible burning in the strike footage.
The A-100 airframe destroyed in the attack also represents a major symbolic loss. Russia once promoted the A-100 as its flagship next-generation AWACS program before shelving it, and engineers had only recently proposed repurposing the same base design.
The proposal included a concept to merge AWACS, maritime patrol, and anti-submarine roles into a single “Swiss-army-knife” A-200 aircraft after Ukraine repeatedly exposed Russia’s shortage of dedicated reconnaissance platforms.
The destruction at Taganrog caps a string of Ukrainian strikes that have systematically degraded Russia’s high-end aviation assets. In recent months, Ukraine’s long-range strikes have targeted multiple facilities involved in bomber and UAV production—including plants upgrading the Tu-95MS strategic bomber fleet.
Earlier, Ukraine released footage showing the launch of a Soviet-designed S-200 surface-to-air missile system, highlighting its role in past long-range strikes.
The system is linked to the downing of two high-value Russian aircraft: the Tu-22M3 strategic bomber and the A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft (AWACS).
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