Drones Strike Russian Aviation Plant Servicing Tu-95 Bombers and Chemical Giant in Tolyatti

Drone attacks struck industrial and military facilities in the Russian cities of Taganrog and Tolyatti overnight on September 12, with fires reported near an aircraft complex that services A-50 surveillance planes and Tu-95 strategic bombers, as well as at one of Russia’s major chemical producers.

According to Exilenova+ on September 12, satellite fire-detection data and footage shared by local residents showed several fires in Taganrog, including near the Beriev Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex.

The facility specializes in maintenance and modernization of Russia’s A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft, Be-series amphibious aircraft used by the Russian Navy, and Tu-95MS/MSM strategic bombers. Russia uses Tu-95 bombers to launch Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles against Ukraine.

NASA FIRMS satellite data showed fire hotspots in the area of the aviation enterprise. The nearby Taganrog-Yuzhny airfield serves as the Beriev complex’s main flight-testing base.

Separately, ASTRA reported that drones may also have targeted the Taganrog-Central military airfield, home to Russia’s 708th Military Transport Aviation Regiment. The 325th Aircraft Repair Plant, which repairs military transport aircraft, is located nearby.

Another fire was recorded near Taganrog’s automobile plant, according to satellite observations and reports from local residents.

In Tolyatti, Samara region, drones targeted the KuibyshevAzot chemical plant, according to monitoring group Exilenova+. A fire was reported on the plant’s premises following the attack.

KuibyshevAzot produces ammonia, ammonium nitrate, urea, ammonium sulfate, nitric acid, caprolactam, and polyamide products. The company is among Russia’s major producers of nitrogen fertilizers and caprolactam, a chemical used in the production of polyamide plastics and synthetic fibers.

Earlier, on September 11, Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the sanctioned Volgogradpromproekt enterprise in Volgograd with FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles, triggering a fire at the facility. The company is involved in Russia’s military-industrial complex and produces ferrocene-based combustion catalysts and chemical production technologies.

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