99
Explosions reported at Russian airfields in Krasnodar Krai, occupied Crimea
(kyivindependent.com)
News related to Ukraine
Community Rules
🇺🇦 Sympathy for enemy combatants is prohibited.
🌻🤢No content depicting extreme violence or gore.
💥Posts containing combat footage should include [Combat] in title
🚷[Combat] videos containing footage of a visible human must be flagged NSFW
No AI slop
❗ Server Rules
💳 Defense Aid 💥
💳 Humanitarian Aid ⚕️⛑️
🪖 Volunteer with the International Legionnaires
See also:
Yes, but airports are also indestructible objects too. That's just a pile of concrete. Any damage would be repaired in no time.
There’s a huge difference between a highway and an airport runway. Runways for large aircraft are pretty complex. They can be 20 or so inches thick with layers of a substrate, then reinforced concrete, then a top asphalt layer. The asphalt is also typically a special type that provides higher friction & flexibility to allow for thermal expansion. Granted, Russia is likely to cut corners, but that just risks damaging the aircraft on takeoff or landing if any debris is kicked up, if the runway buckles under the weight of the aircraft, cracks form from the sun heating it up, etc.
But all those nuances are not important in the short time. Plus fighter jets aren't heavy.
The photo in that article shows radar (AWACS) aircraft as well as what appear to be bombers in the background. Those are comparable to commercial aircraft, especially when the bombers are fully loaded.
They most likely didn't strike the runway. They hit the equipment/buildings that make the runway functional and any aircraft surprised on the ground.
Refueling systems, mechanical bays, radars, etc are all pretty easy to destroy.
They are also huuuuuge, a few drones only make a few dents. Lots of room to space out expensive assets