Ukraine conducted a similar Spider Web operation in Crimea: 34 percent of air force was destroyed

[Starmix]

According to the report, key elements of Operation Spider Web, which destroyed about 34% of Russia's entire strategic air force, were tested in 2023 during attacks in Crimea, Defense Express analysts reported. Recently, the SBU handed over to the Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II a damaged unmanned naval drone, Sea Baby, which has become a true symbol of innovative combat operations. This drone completed several combat missions, having traveled more than 4,000 kilometers in total across the Black Sea and each time safely returning to base. Thus, Sea Baby made at least four exits to the maximum declared range - about 1,000 km. During the ceremony of transferring the drone to the museum, Brigadier General of the SBU military counterintelligence Ivan Lukashevich noted that it was Sea Baby that became the first sea drone in the history of Ukraine to carry out a mission to destroy Russian helicopters at the Kacha airfield near occupied Sevastopol. According to Lukashevich, this operation took place "last year", that is, in 2024. At the same time, it is known that public information about the attack on "Kacha", when Mi-8 helicopters were hit, appeared back in May 2023.

The report said that the Sea Baby drone tested several new technological solutions that formed the basis of the Spider Web ." That is an analogue of Spider Web could have been carried out then, but at "minimums". It is not known what specific elements of the operation were practiced on this drone, but it can be assumed that this was a test of the ability to control an FPV drone from a significant distance in combat conditions, since signal instability, or a strong signal delay, could have led to the failure of the operation or a decrease in its effectiveness," the publication noted. Let us recall that on June 1, Ukraine carried out a unique special operation in the rear of Russia, striking strategically important enemy targets at four airfields - "Belaya", "Dyagilevo", "Olenya", and "Ivanovo".These bases were used to concentrate the strategic aviation of the aggressor state, namely, those aircraft that regularly carried out missile strikes on peaceful Ukrainian cities.

According to preliminary estimates, the value of the aircraft damaged during the special operation of the Security Service of Ukraine called "Web" exceeds 7 billion US dollars. The total losses of Russian aviation as a result of the strike amount to 41 units. As reported, among the destroyed and damaged aircraft were the Tu-95, Tu-22M, and Tu-160 strategic bombers, the An-12 and Il-78 reconnaissance and transport aircraft, and the A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft. Military experts have already called this operation "the Russian Pearl Harbor."


Watch the report on the YouTube link.