US Army Colonel Explains How Ukraine’s Patriots Ambush Russian Jets & Shot Down Rare A-50U AWACS

Germany and the United States have donated Ukraine with advanced Patriot SAM systems (surface-to-air missile defense). A recent presentation by the US military has shed more light on how Ukraine is using the Patriots to create “SAMbushes” to destroy Russian aircraft at ranges behind the frontline that had been thought to have been out of range. It has now been confirmed a Patriot was responsible for the mysterious A-50U spy plane shootdown in January. It should be noted that the proverbial fog of war is very real. No one will have a complete picture of what is happening in the war in Ukraine until a long time after the war is over.

US Army says Patriot shot down Beriev A-50U

The Air Defense Artillery Association and the US Field Artillery Association co-hosted the Fires Symposium between 6 and 9 May in Lawton, Oklahoma. Leaders from the Army, Marine Corps, and other service branches gave Keynote presentations. One of the presenters was Col. Ro Clemente, G3 operations officer of the 10th AAMDC, who helped lead a panel on NATO/Ukraine lessons learned.

Col. Clemente spoke about how the Ukrainians use their new Patriot batteries effectively. Notably, she said that Ukraine was setting “SAMbushes” or ambushes using the Patriot. It appears Ukraine has successfully shot down a large number of Russian warplanes – including the high-profile Beriev A-50U AWACS aircraft shot down in January 2024. Separately, Col. Clemente stated that the first Russian hypersonic Kinzhal (NATO ‘Killjoy’) missile intercepted by a Patriot was fired by a 23-year-old Ukrainian tactical control officer.

“They have probably a PATRIOT Bn [worth].. Some of this is being used to protect static sites.. others are being moved around and doing some really historic things..One of them is a SAMbush.. stretching the very edges..to engage the first A-50 system back in Jan” – Col. Clemente

Ukraine claimed to have shot down a rare Russian A-50U AWACS aircraft and hit a rare Ilyushin Il-22M (it managed to land but was heavily damaged). At the time, the Russians claimed they had shot it down in a friendly fire incident.

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Other (and possible) Ukrainian SAMbushes

Perhaps Ukraine’s first successful “SAMbush” was in May 2023 when it shot down one Su-34, one Su-35, and two Mi-8 helicopters over the border in Russia’s Bryansk region in one afternoon. This was a dark day for the Russian Air Force. Since then, there have been many reported “SAMbushes” where Russian jets are mysteriously shot out of the sky, flying where they had thought they were safely out of range.

The following month, another A-50U aircraft was shot down well behind the frontline. Again, the Russians claimed friendly fire. In April 2024, Ukraine apparently shot down the first strategic bomber out of the sky – a Tu-22M3. However, reporting at the time (along with intelligence from the British MoD) suggested that the shootdown was using a legacy Soviet S-200 missile. Time will tell if the Patriot was responsible for these kills as well.

In February 2024, Ukraine claimed to have shot down around a dozen Russian Su-34 fighter jets in a remarkable two-week period. However, little or no verifiable evidence for these shootdowns was ever produced (at least not conclusive proof for most reported shootdowns). That said, it was reported that Russia had stopped using its Su-34 using guided bombs around the Chernihiv and Kherson parts of the front. It was then apparent that the Russians were hunting for the pesky Patriot system, knocking down their aircraft.

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Ukraine’s Patriot systems

After countless Russian claims of destroying the Patriot systems (only to have more of their aircraft mysteriously disappear from the skies afterward), it seems the Russians finally hit it while it was on the move. The Russians released footage showing a missile hitting and destroying two M901 launchers for the MIM-104 Patriot. It is unclear if these launchers belonged to the German or American-supplied Patriot.

Six components of the Patriot system:

• Radar Set
• Engagement Control Station
• Launcher Stations
• Antenna Mask Group
• Interceptor Missiles
• Power Plant

The extent of damage to the system is unclear; launchers are relatively easy to replace (unlike the radars and control centers). A Patriot system will typically have eight launchers – so if this was the extent of the damage, then the system may have had six launchers until replacements could arrive.

The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system

The SAMbushes are believed to have been conducted using the German-supplied Patriots. Unlike the American-supplied variants, these are truck-mounted and offer critical mobility in setting up the SAMbushes. As of June 2024 (according to the Oryx blog), Germany has donated or pledged to donate three Patriot batteries and two Patriot launchers, the Netherlands has donated two Patriot launchers, and the US has donated one Patriot battery to Ukraine.