"Ukraine's Ingenious Missile Trap for Russian Air Force"

Ukrainian air defenses are speculated to have brought down a Russian A-50 Beriev AWACS aircraft by deploying a 'Franken' surface-to-air missile, possibly a fusion of Patriot missiles with S-300 systems, in a carefully crafted trap following Ukrainian air strikes on Russian air defense systems in Crimea. Defense analyst Tom Cooper suggests that Ukrainian radar and missile crews set up a ruse to bait the Russian aircraft, leading to the successful ambush. The A-50U was hit by the SAMs and crashed, while the Il-22M was damaged in the same attack, leaving the Russian Air Force with only two A-50Us remaining.