Olenya air base covers up amid drone fears
Newly released satellite images show how Russia is putting tires on the long-ranged Tu-95MS aircraft to confuse image-matching navigation on incoming drones.
Hundreds of sorties in the course of the last two years are flown from Olenya air base on the Kola Peninsula with cruise missiles targeting Ukraine. Drones are now hitting back, with reported attacks at least three times in recent months.
Satellite images made available for everyone by Google Earth details how Russia this autumn tries to protect the strategic important airbase inside the Arctic Circle.
As soon as an aircraft parks after mission, tires are put the wings. There are from 12 to more than 20 tires on each wing on the Tu-95MS bombers, while the Tu-22M supersonic bombers seen on the satellite images have tires on both the foldable wings and the fuselage.
A pile of tires for this purpose is seen in front of the two tube-formed plastic halls erected on the apron after Russia in summer 2022 moved north many of its long-ranged strategic bombers.
This is the first times such tires are seen on aircraft in northern Russia. The use of tires first appeared at Engels-2 air base last August after the base was attacked by Ukrainian drones on multiple occasions. Engels-2 in Saratov region is much closer to the Ukrainian border and the attacks here were likely a main reason for moving about ten Tu-160 and Tu-95MS bombers north to Olenya air base which is some 1,800 km from the border with Ukraine.
Some 25 tires are placed on each wing of this Tu-95MS bomber at Olenya air base.
With tires on the wings, computer vision on drones will have difficulty identifying that this is an aircraft.
Located some 1,800 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, the air base has been attacked by drones at least three times in recent months.
News online The War Zone has previously published images showing how military planes in southern Russia were covered by tires on the wings and the fuselage.
The publication quoted Chief Technology Officer Schuyler Moor with the U.S. Central Command explaining the aim of the tires.
“If you put tires on to of the wings, all of a sudden, a lot of computer vision models have difficulty identifying that that’s a plane,” Moore said at a meeting discussing AI models and data sets.
CNN recently followed a group of drone operators to different launch sites inside Ukraine from where they can attack military targets deep into Russia.
Long-range strikes can fly 1,500 to 2,000 km from launch, one operator told CNN.
Programmed with more than 1,000 different waypoints, a drone can evade Russia’s comprehensive air defense systems, the report says.
“It looks like we play with them,” the operator told CNN. “… but it’s not a game. It’s a war."
In August 2023, also the Soltsy-2 air base in Novgorod region was attacked by drones. Within hours, several of the Tu-22 M3 bombers took off and flew north to Olenya.
The August 2024 satellite images show 39 Tu-22M3 planes, eight more than normally parked at Olenya. The majority of the older ones, however, are not airworthy and mainly used to provide spare parts for the newer bombers.
At the time of the satellite image, there were 11 Tu-95MS long-range bombers. Nearly every parking spot at Olenya air base were occupied. Three planes were even parked at the taxiways to the 3,500 meters runway.
Another change visible from satellites at the air base is the fuel deposit area (images below). Here, protective shields, what looks like nets made of metal wires, are placed over each of the 13 rows with multiple tanks.
The 68,000 square meter large fuel tank area is less than a kilometre to the west of the aprons where the planes are parked.
Ukrainian drones have hit oil depots at many locations further south in Russia that have caused large fires and obstructed fuel deliveries to the war machine.
The selfdefense argument by Ukraine is simple; no fuel - no flights to deliver cruise missiles that can hit their country.
As Ukraine continues to strike military bases deep inside Russia, Moscow are desperately developing counter-measures.
A social media video of a drone approaching Olenya in August this year indicates the main problem for Russian air defense. As the micro-plane loaded with explosives comes in low, traditional S-300 or S-400 missiles are useless as they are designed to take down planes flying higher than just over the trees.
The drone was finally hit by artillery and exploded in air.
This weekend, Ukraine again sent a wave of drones into Russia. Military officials in Moscow claimed it had “destroyed” 110 Ukrainian drones at various locations in the European part of the country.
No drones were reported north to the Murmansk region.
A huge air defence complex to protect Olenya and Russia’s even more strategic ballistic missile submarine base north of Murmansk is located a stone’s throw from the runway. 1,500 meters to the east.
Google Earth’s latest satellite images now clearly show a base more on alert.
Six of the S-300 or S-400 anti-aircraft missile complex have their tubes erected ready for launch. This unlike previous satellite photos from the base, when the same mobile anti-aircraft complexes were parked with missiles lowered.
Visible on the images are also three high mobile antennas for powerful electronic warfare. A smaller vehicle-based antenna appears to be a GPS jammer.
