Ukrainian drones destroy Beriev A‑60 laser testbed and A‑100LL AEW aircraft at Taganrog plant

Ukrainian drones struck the Taganrog Beriev aviation complex overnight, destroying two ultra‑rare Russian testbeds: the one‑off A‑60 laser‑armed flying laboratory and an A‑100LL airborne laboratory/AEW radar testbed. The attack hit aircraft at the manufacturer's plant near the Black Sea and eliminated key experimental platforms.

Discovered 2025-11-25T04:53:41.369231-08:00 | 2025-11-25T04:53:41.369231-08:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

Confirms Ukrainian long‑range drone reach to strike deep into Russian production sites; Ukraine has conducted consecutive night drone operations and strikes toward Moscow in recent weeks (see recent drone strike activity: https://hype.aero/?story=ce3315b9-36d9-4da8-b9ac-b9d0611f7845).
Removes two one‑off platforms — a directed‑energy A‑60 testbed and an A‑100LL AEW/radar laboratory — setting back Russia's experimental directed‑energy and airborne‑surveillance development (context on directed‑energy weapons programs: https://hype.aero/?story=93c9bf1a-0369-474f-bb76-97bd80f57867).
Damage at the Beriev manufacturing complex threatens availability of scarce specialised platforms and test assets comparable to other rare Russian SIGINT/ELINT/AEW aircraft tracked by NATO: https://hype.aero/?story=10362d09-0131-4170-b8e0-66beeae51894.

Reported By

nationalsecurityjournal.org militarywatchmagazine.com wonderfulengineering.com La Dépêche aerospaceglobalnews.com The Aviationist